Indian Board President’s XI vs Sri Lanka, Preview: Chance for India’s domestic performers to present a case

Sri Lanka begins their tour to India with a two-day warm-up match against Indian Board President XI. (Source: File)

Sri Lanka begin their tour to India with a two-day warm-up match against Indian Board President XI at the Jadavpur University second campus ground on Saturday. While it will be a big opportunity for the young guns of India, led by Sanju Samson, to gain a first-hand experience of facing an international side, the Lankans will look to stamp their authority from the word go.

Coming on the backdrop of a comprehensive series win over Pakistan, Sri Lanka knows it will be an uphill task to beat an in-form Indian side. Hence, it is imperative that Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal and his men get acclimatized to the conditions on offer as soon as possible. A positive start to the tour will do a world of good for Sri Lanka, who are without batting coach Thilan Samaraweera.

Considering their dismal performance in the home series against India, the batsmen –  including Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dinesh Chandimal and others will look to have a fruitful outing in the middle and gain some worthwhile experience with a few good knocks. On a track which has been conducive to bowling, the likes of Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage and Dhananjaya de Silva will also look to roll their arm over and improve their confidence.

Meanwhile, after the injury to Naman Ojha, stand in skipper Sanju Samson has already declared his side’s intentions of taking the game as an opportunity to showcase their talent to the national selectors. Stating that it is a warm-up game for Sri Lanka but not for BPXI, Samson went on to say that this match will provide his young side with a chance to face an experienced spinner like Rangana Herath.

Along with him, others who will look to make an impression are Abhishek Gupta, who was drafted to the side after an impressive Ranji Trophy debut. Anmolpreet Singh, Avesh Khan, Jalaj Saxena, Jiwanjot Singh are some of the others who will look to make a mark with their performances.

Teams:

Indian Board Presidents XI (From): Tanmay Agarwal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Jiwanjot Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Rohan Prem, Bavanaka Sandeep, Jalaj Saxena, Chama Milind, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Ravi Kiran, Akash Bhandari, Anmolpreet Singh

Sri Lanka (From): Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dasun Shanaka, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando