Akash Chopra suggests replacements for Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav for Sri Lanka series

Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra suggested the names of two current players that could replace the outgoing Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw. Yadav and Shaw will be leaving to join the Indian contingent that is scheduled to face England. This led to questions regarding their replacement for the remainder of the series against Sri Lanka. Chopra suggested three names that could replace them. He named Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaekwad and Devdutt Padikkal. The former cricketer’s reason was that the trio had played enough cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL). India was supposed to face Sri Lanka today in the second of the three T20s.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), revealed in a statement on Monday that Yadav and Shaw would join the Virat Kohli-led side that will face England. The date of the duo’s departure has not been announced yet.

“If they (Shaw and Suryakumar) are available then I don’t think you need to make changes because you haven’t won the series yet. If they aren’t available, you have three options – Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Nitish Rana. You can play any two of these three players. They have enough experience after playing in the IPL,” Chopra said to ESPNCricinfo.

“Players like Avishka Fernando need to convert starts into big scores”

Chopra also spoke about the shortcomings of the Sri Lankan national cricket team at the time. He said that the batters needed to take responsibility and anchor the innings when need be. “This is a struggling Sri Lankan team with a few players suspended so this is all that they have. They will need to play differently and players like Avishka Fernando will need to convert starts into big scores. Asalanka did try his best but he alone can’t do all the work. These players will need to bat with more responsibility or else the result will be the same,” Chopra said.

India recently won the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka 2-1. It was a dominating performance from the Shikhar Dhawan-led side. They are now facing the island nation in a three-match T20I series. The first match went in India’s favour and the second one was supposed to be played today. However, it had to be postponed due to the positive COVID test of all-rounder Krunal Pandya.

Two Indian sides have been dispatched, one to England and one to Sri Lanka to compete in two series. The one in Sri Lanka is led by opener Shikhar Dhawan, while the other is being captained by regular skipper Virat Kohli.