'Humbled to lead my country' says Shikhar Dhawan after getting reins of captaincy

New Delhi: Opener Shikhar Dhawan was on Thursday named as captain of the Indian cricket team that will travel to Sri Lanka to play three ODIs and three T20Is next month.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named Dhawan's deputy for the limited-overs tour, that will begin on July 13 and conclude on July 25 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo.

With several white-ball regulars including captain Virat Kohli away with Test squad in England at the same time, the BCCI has rewarded several domestic performers with an India call-up.

Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal, who has been in rollicking form in white-ball cricket in the domestic circuit as well as the IPL, were picked in the squad. Maharashtra and CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad also made the cut.

Meanwhile, Prithvi Shaw, who top-scored for Mumbai with a whopping 827 run-tally to lead his team to a Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph earlier this year, made a comeback to the Indian team.

Among the bowlers, the young Chetan Sakariya found a berth on the basis of his impressive performances in the now-suspended IPL 2021 earlier this year.

Krishnappa Gowtham, the experienced Karnataka spinner, who fetched big amount at the IPL auction this year was also picked.

India's squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya

Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh.

Humbled to lead my country: Dhawan

New Delhi: Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan on Friday said he feels humbled after being appointed captain of the Indian cricket team for the Sri Lanka tour.India will play three ODIs and as many T20s at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo starting July 13.

'Humbled by the opportunity to lead my country. Thank you for all your wishes,' tweeted Dhawan, who has has played 34 Tests, 145 ODIs and 65 T20s.Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named Dhawan’s deputy for the white ball tour.

With several white-ball regulars including captain Virat Kohli away with Test squad in England at the same time, the BCCI on Thursday rewarded several domestic performers with an India call-up.

Five player- K Gowtham, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaekwad and Chetan Sakariya, received their maiden India call up.(UNI)