Prithvi Shaw, Varun Chakravarthy make debut, Sri Lanka to bowl first

Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bowl in the first T20 versus India. Debuts for opener Prithvi Shaw and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy were announced as Sri Lankan pacer Isuru Udana got a call back to the T20 team. 

Winning the toss, Dasun Shanaka said, “We are going to bowl first. I think the wicket will play better in the latter part of the game. We can’t control the injuries and it can change the momentum as well. These three games are very important for us and we have got two debutants. We got three changes from the last ODI. Isuru Udana comes back.”

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Indian skipper Dhawan said that he would have wanted to bowl first too.

“We wanted to have a bowl first as there’s dampness in the pitch but we are capable of putting a good score on board. It’s about giving opportunities to new players and see how they perform and have a good chance for the upcoming World Cup. We got lots of changes, two debutants for us. Prithvi Shaw and Varun Chakravarthy,” Dhawan said. 

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India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Ashen Bandara, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera