India face Sri Lanka in the first T20I of their upcoming three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Friday. The series will also mark the beginning of Suryakumar Yadav's tenure as T20I captain, having replaced Rohit Sharma, who retired from T20Is. The spotlight will also be on Gautam Gambhir, who has taken over as head coach from Rahul Dravid.

Originally, the first T20I was scheduled for July 26, but now has been pushed to July 27. The second T20I will take place on July 28, and the third on July 30. After the T20Is, both sides will also take on each other in ODIs. This will also be India's first white-ball bilateral tour of Sri Lanka since 2021.

For the first T20I, Shubman Gill is expected to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal. They have gigantic shows of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to fill. For the T20 World Cup, Gill missed out on a berth in the 15-member squad, with Jaiswal making the cut. But the RR opener didn't feature in a single match. They are expected to shine against Sri Lanka, after having a good outing in Zimbabwe.

It will be interesting to see how Suryakumar deals with the captaincy burden now that he has taken up the role permanently. His batting order will also be interesting to see. He has made the No.4 spot his own over the years but now that India don't have Rohit and Kohli, he might decide to go up to No.3.

Once again, the raging debate will be between Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. Pant was chosen ahead of Samson in all the T20 World Cup matches. The left-hander didn't do anything wrong to suggest that things will change in Sri Lanka. If India picks Pant, then he might continue to bat at No.3.

Rinku Singh hasn't yet got enough opportunities. He will be looking to prove a point in this series, and will be at no. 5. His finishing skills could come in handy. Hardik Pandya was key for India in their victorious T20 World Cup campaign, especially in the final. He will look to perform with both bat and ball, and could be under pressure due to losing the captaincy to Suryakumar. Pandya will be at no. 6, with fellow all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar at no. 7 and no. 8.

Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj will form the tailenders. Bishnoi will also perform the spin duties.

India's likely XI vs Sri Lanka:

Top order - Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant

Middle order - Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh

All-rounders - Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar

Bowlers - Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj

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