India’s captain Rohit Sharma has stated that he does not mind having a headache choosing between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the playing XI in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Rahul has been a mainstay in the ODI team for several years, however, Pant has not played an ODI since November 2022, due to a horrible accident that kept him out of competitive cricket for more than 14 months. Pant also had a stunning return to international cricket with a handful of crucial performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

I’ll need to discuss this with the head coach. You’ll see it tomorrow when we play the game, Rohit asserted in the pre-match press conference. It’s a tough call. Both are quality players. They’re match-winners in their own way. It’s always nice to have problems picking up the team like that, the Indian opener stated.

When you’re discussing too much on who to pick or leave, then that means there’s quality in the team. Which I think is a good thing. I look forward to these problems till I’m captain. We want to come here and play good cricket. This is no practice ground. We want to get something out of the series. It is as simple as that, he added.

Ahead of the first ODI, Rohit also admitted that his team does not see the series solely as a practice ground for upcoming major competitions and hopes to get something out of this. The opener of the three-match series between Men in Blue and Sri Lanka will be played today (August 2) at R Premadasa Stadium.