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regular-article-logo Sunday, 22 December 2024

Sri Lanka tour: Chance of Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Sai Kishore call-up in T20Is

27-year-old, who has so far featured in three T20Is for India during last year’s Asian Games, has been on the national selectors’ radar following his impressive first-class (166 wickets from 39 matches) and List A (92 scalps from 54 games) numbers as well as crucial strikes in this year’s IPL for Gujarat

Sayak Banerjee Calcutta Published 15.07.24, 11:21 AM
R. Sai Kishore in a picture shared on X

R. Sai Kishore in a picture shared on X

The players who have impressed in domestic cricket and the IPL are set to get their share of chances in India’s Sri Lanka tour as well, which begins later this month.

One of those players is likely to be R. Sai Kishore, the Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner, who has represented Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Sai Kishore could be picked for the T20I leg of the Sri Lanka tour, which begins on July 27 in Pallekele.

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The 27-year-old, who has so far featured in three T20Is for India during last year’s Asian Games, has been on the national selectors’ radar following his impressive first-class (166 wickets from 39 matches) and List A (92 scalps from 54 games) numbers as well as crucial strikes in this year’s IPL for the Titans, where he picked up seven wickets in five matches.

“There’s a possibility of (left-arm spinner all-rounder) Axar Patel not being there for the Sri Lanka T20Is. In that case, Sai Kishore does have a fair chance of making the cut,” a BCCI official said on Sunday.

“The selectors too are impressed with his bowling. He had done well also in the Deodhar Trophy last year (with 11 wickets from five games at an economy rate of 3.78).”

The squads for the three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka will be announced in a few days.

Pacer all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had been picked for the just-concluded Zimbabwe tour, only to be indisposed later and replaced by Shivam Dube, is learnt to have made a good recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

The 21-year-old Andhra cricketer, who has recently recovered from a sports hernia, will resume bowling in a day or two.

Reddy had caught the eye of many with his stroke-making ability in IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, his selection for the Sri Lanka tour depends on whether he’s 100 per cent match fit.

“In the T20Is, Nitish’s availability looks difficult. There’s still a bit of time left for the ODI series, so let’s see,” the Board official stated.

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