Former Team India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has picked India’s second-string playing XI for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. The speculations surrounding the squad for the Sri Lanka series have reached a new height considering the first team will be travelling to the UK for the ICC World Test Championship final followed by the five-match Test series against England.

Dasgupta picked a formidable XI that had a perfect mix of youth and experience. The playing XI was good enough to trouble any side in the world. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator missed out on some big names while picking his playing XI.

Deep Dasgupta went with Delhi Capitals’ duo Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw for the opening slot following their sensational show in the now-postponed Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is placed at number three while Suryakumar Yadav follows him. Interestingly, Dasgupta didn’t pick Yadav’s Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan, who smashed a fiery fifty on his T20I debut earlier this year.

Deep Dasgupta snubs Ishan Kishan from his playing XI

Samson is also the wicket-keeper of Deep’s line-up. Next in the line-up is Manish Pandey, who had a mixed season for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021. His cautious approach didn’t help SRH but Pandey’s experience will come in handy. The all-rounders’ role has been entrusted to Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tewatia. The duo couldn’t impress much in IPL 2021, but Deep expects them to shine in India colours.

Meanwhile, Deep Dasgupta went with Rahul Chahar ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal as the leading spinner of the side. Chahar bowled some decent spells in IPL 2021 and strengthened his case for a national selection. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar and T Natarajan occupy the remaining places in the line-up. The trio was part of India’s T20I series against England earlier this year, and Dasgupta has retained them.

Deep Dasgupta’s India T20I playing XI for Sri Lanka series: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan