IND vs SL 3rd T20I: Sandeep Warrier becomes sixth player to make debut, India to bat first

IND vs SL 3rd T20I: Sandeep Warrier makes debut

Sandeep Warrier is all set to make his T20I debut in the third and final contest against Sri Lanka, which will be played on Thursday. The 30-year-old comes as a replacement for Navdeep Saini, who endured an injury while fielding in the second encounter, which India lost by four wickets. 

Meanwhile, India won the toss and opted to bat first.

Sri Lanka also made one change in their playing XI as the hosts bring in Pathum Nissanka in place of Isuru Udana. 

As India jostles with COVID-19 with all-rounder Krunal Pandya testing positive ahead of the second T20I earlier this week, India have roped in a series of newcomers. 

Tears of joy! 

The wait is finally over. Welcome to international cricket, Sandeep Warrier. 

Go well!  #TeamIndia #SLvIND

Follow the match  https://t.co/E8MEONwPlh pic.twitter.com/KwHAnlO3ZQ

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 29, 2021

Warrier becomes the sixth Indian to make his debut in the tour after Varun Chakravarthy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, and Chetan Sakariya. He was initially a part of the net bowlers, who traveled with the Indian contingent for the limited-over tourney. 

Captains speak:

Shikhar Dhawan: "We are gonna bat first. We'll look to post a good score. Our bowling is quite strong, so we are going to defend. We are just focusing on today's game, we are not going to take any pressure from the past. He (Saini) is injured. We've got Sandeep Warrier. He's debuting today."

Dasun Shanaka: "We are happy to bowl first. Early wickets is going to do the trick. It'll be a big win for us. Winning is very important, it'll be very nice. Isuru Udana is out, Pathum Nissanka comes in."

Playing XIs 

India: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w), Nitish Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Warrier, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakravarthy 

Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera 

The three-match series is tied at 1-1.