India vs Sri Lanka: 3 Players Who Will Be Dropped From The India Squad

It was a horrific performance especially by the Indian batters in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. After restricting the home team at a par score of 230 runs in the first ODI match, the Indian team failed to successfully chase down the total as the game eventually ended in a tie. India also suffered major batting collapses in the second and third ODI matches as Sri Lanka registered a historic 2-0 victory in the three-match ODI series. Incidentally, this is the first time in 27 years when Sri Lanka have defeated India in an ODI series. In this blog post, we will be talking about the three Indian players who will be dropped from the ODI squad following the loss during the India vs Sri Lanka ODI series. 

India vs Sri Lanka: 3 Players who will be dropped from the India ODI squad

1. KL Rahul

Things really went downtown for wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul in the recently concluded India vs Sri Lanka ODI series. The right-handed batsman ended up scoring a total of 520 runs from 14 games in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024 season) while captaining the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, he was then out of the game for nearly two months after not being selected in the India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. In the first ODI match against Sri Lanka, Rahul scored 31 runs off 43 deliveries that included just two boundaries as India failed to chase down a target of 231 runs. 

During the second ODI match, KL Rahul was dismissed for a 2-ball duck by Lankan spinner Jeffrey Vandersay. After poor outings in the first two games with the bat, he was not included in the India Playing XI for the third and final ODI match. Rishabh Pant played the final encounter of the ODI series, but he too managed to score just 6 runs off 9 balls. It is still not clear whether KL Rahul will be part of the ODI squad as a wicket-keeper batsman in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. 

2. Shreyas Iyer

Another India middle-order batsman, Shreyas Iyer, did not have the best of times in the Sri Lanka vs India three-match ODI series. After smashing a brilliant tally of more than 500 runs at the No.4 slot during India's campaign at the ODI World Cup 2023, the right-hander confirmed his spot in the ODI squad. However, Shreyas has put himself in a really tough spot after a below-par performance with the bat in the IND vs SL ODI series. He managed to score 23 runs in the first ODI game against Sri Lanka. The middle-order batter failed to contribute much in the second encounter and was then dismissed for just 8 runs off 7 balls in the final ODI defeat. 

Despite winning the IPL 2024 season as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, Iyer did not had the best of performances with the bat in the entire T20 tournament. With players like Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag already in the scheme of things, Shreyas Iyer will find it really difficult to sustain in the India ODI squad until the Champions Trophy 2025. 

3. Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube certainly registered his name in the cricketing history after being part of the winning Indian squad during the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024 played in the West Indies and USA. The swashbuckling left-handed batsman played an important knock in the India vs South Africa final. He scored 25 runs off 24 balls in the first ODI match, but eventually failed to take his team over the line. 

Shivam Dube was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the second ODI encounter and ended up scoring 9 runs off 14 deliveries in the third and final ODI match. With seam bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya certain to make a comeback in the India ODI squad, Dube will be dropped from the side.