India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: India’s possible playing 11 at Colombo; focus on Shaw, Chahal

1. Openers

Shikhar Dhawan is certain to hold one end up as he is the captain and the most experienced player in the side. He has been in good touch in the white ball formats of late. India have three choices at the top – Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. But Shaw might get the preference thanks to his efforts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year.

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw.

2. Middle-order batsmen

Ishan Kishan might come in at No 3, a role that he does often with Mumbai Indians, and he can also do wicketkeeping. Suryakumar Yadav could be the No 4 batsman for India and Manish Pandey at No 5 is a good option because the Karnataka batsman can add a dash of experience to otherwise young middle-order.

3. All-rounder

Hardik Pandya. He will come in at No 6 but it is not certain whether Hardik is ready to bowl full quota of 10 overs. He has been bowling at nets and we can expect him to chip in with a few overs as per the situation. It will give the team a great balance too.

4. Late order

7. Krunal Pandya (spinner, very handy late-order batsman), 8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain, experienced pacer), 9. Deepak Chahar (Adept with new ball), 10. Navdeep Saini (Pacer), 11. Yuzvendra Chahal (leg-spinner).