VVS Laxman choose his best playing XI for the ODI series against Sri Lanka

In a recent interview, VVS Laxman picked his preferred playing XI for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

The Indian team plays six limited-overs matches including three ODIs and three T20Is. A 20-member squad captained by Shikhar Dhawan has been chosen for the series.

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman named seven batsmen and all-rounders to play in his team India playing XI for the ODIs. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw as the openers., with Suryakumar Yadav at 3 and Sanju Samson at 4. Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya play at numbers 5 and 6 respectively. Krunal Pandya would be the number 7 player.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, and Ishan Kishan failed to make VVS Laxman's playing XI. But they are part of the 20-member squad that will play in Sri Lanka.

VVS Laxman chose the bowlers who would play in his preferred team

Laxman picked two seam bowlers and two wrist-spinners as his four specialist bowlers. The two fast bowlers are Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar. The two specialist spinners are Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Irfan Pathan also chose his preferred playing XI for the Sri Lanka tour. There have been reports of Hardik Pandya bowling. So, Pathan included Nitish Rana as a specialist batsman ahead of Yadav. But he chose to stick with the playing XI selected by Laxman.

Irfan Pathan just wanted to add Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder if he bowls. So, he included Nitish Rana as a specialist batsman. If Hardik would bowl well then the inclusion of Rana would benefit the team.

Even if Hardik Pandya bowls in the upcoming tour, the team management would like to keep an additional bowling option. Hardik would return to bowling after a long break and there have been questions about his form. So the management would not put their entire money in his bowling action.

Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Chahar, Gowtham, and Varun Chakravarty failed to get selected in both VVS Laxman and Irfan Pathan's team.

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