The Indian cricket team began their white-ball tour in Sri Lanka with a clean sweep of 3-0 in the T20I series. Expectations were high for India to win the ODI series against the injury-stricken Sri Lanka, but the hosts made a strong comeback. Led by Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka defeated Rohit Sharma’s India in the ODI series. The first match ended in a tie, Sri Lanka won the second by 32 runs, and the final by 110 runs, securing a 2-0 series win. Indian batters struggled, losing 27 out of 30 wickets to Sri Lanka’s spin attack. This series marked Sri Lanka’s first ODI bilateral series win over India in almost 30 years.
Here are five Indian players who underperformed in the ODI series.
1. Virat Kohli
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli had a disappointing performance in the series against Sri Lanka. At the age of 35, he managed to score only 58 runs across three matches, with a modest average of 19.33.
During the series, Kohli struggled against the Sri Lankan spinners and was dismissed LBW in three consecutive innings.
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2. Shubman Gill
The BCCI selection committee named Shubman Gill as the vice-captain for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, Gill had a disappointing ODI series as a batter.
In the three matches, Gill accumulated just 57 runs, averaging a mere 19. His top score in the series was 35.
3. Shreyas Iyer
After being left out of the BCCI’s central contracts for not focusing on domestic cricket as requested, Indian middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer returned to international cricket for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, his return was disappointing, as he struggled with the bat. Iyer managed only 38 runs over the three matches, averaging just 12.66.
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4. KL Rahul
KL Rahul, the wicket-keeper batter from India, made his comeback to international cricket during this ODI series. Known for his strong performances in the middle order, Rahul was anticipated to be pivotal against Sri Lanka.
Despite these expectations, the 32-year-old managed only 31 runs in two matches and was left out of the final game of the series. His performance was below par, with an average of just 15.50.
5. Mohammed Siraj
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj had an impressive track record against Sri Lanka in ODIs, leading to high expectations that he would perform exceptionally well again in the three-match ODI series, especially given Sri Lanka’s injury struggles.
However, Siraj did not meet those expectations. In the three ODIs, the right-arm fast bowler took only three Sri Lankan wickets, with a disappointing economy rate of 6.28.
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