Will pick Samson ahead of Ishan Kishan as keeper in ODIs, states VVS Laxman

In the absence of the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja, who are in England for India's World Test Championship encounter against England, India have sent a second-string side to Sri Lanka with Shikhar Dhawan as the captain. However, the side has some exciting talents with many players vying for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad. Ishan Kishan, who made his T20I debut in the England series in March, will aim for an ODI spot but VVS Laxman feels that Sanju Samson fits the bill.

“It’s a very detailed squad, a 20-man squad. But I will go with Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, the No.3 batsman would be Suryakumar Yadav. At No.4 will be Sanju Samson in ODIs, No.5 will be Manish Pandey, at No.6 I will go with Hardik Pandya, No.7 Krunal Pandya. I will have two fast bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar and two spinners will be Kuldeep and Chahal. This is my ODI XI," Laxman said on Star Sports.

Irfan Pathan had a slightly different view when it came to the positioning of the Pandya brothers, as the former Indian all-rounder stated that with Hardik bowling, he would much rather have Nitish Rana playing ahead of Krunal Pandya.

“Only one change I would like, Hardik Pandya is bowling, so I will have him as an all-rounder, one more batsman I will add – Nitish Rana in place of Krunal. Apart from that same, because I will like to see Hardik Pandya bowl quite a few number of overs,” Pathan said.