India vs Sri Lanka: Chance for Shreyas Iyer to cement spot, possible lifeline for Sanju Samson in T20Is

India vs Sri Lanka: The 3-match T20I series offers Shreyas Iyer an opportunity to cement his place ifni the squad while it also serves as a possible lifeline for Sanju Samson to realise his potential at the highest level.

The absence of the trilogy of Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant for the T20I series against Sri Lanka gives India another opportunity to firm up their backup options for the much-talked-about middle-order. The focus will be on Shreyas Iyer and comeback man Sanju Samson during the 3-match T20I series, starting February 24 in Lucknow.

Shreyas Iyer is likely to be guaranteed spot in the playing XI throughout the series. Against the West Indies last week, Iyer was warming the benches for the first two matches before he got into the XI for the dead rubber on Sunday. The star batter showed signs of intent from the word go and hit 25 from 16 balls before getting out.

The newly-appointed Kolkata Knight Riders captain has established his credentials in the ODI format and with his hundred on debut in Tests, he is certainly going to get more opportunities in whites, especially with the axing of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. However, Iyer needs to be more consistent and show the team management that he can play the role of the aggressor and not an accumulator in the middle order if he is to be part of the T20i set-up.

Iyer had missed the T20 World Cup last year after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury. Following the World Cup campaign, the emergence of Suryakumar Yadav as a dependable middle-order batter and India's need for a big-hitting finisher, who can bowl a bit, has pushed Iyer to the bench in T20Is.

Against the West Indies, the firepower that Suryakumar and Venkatesh Iyer provided in the middle-order was a big boost to India and the team management would want to continue the template in the lead up to the World Cup.

"Someone like Shreyas Iyer is sitting out, very hard on him not making it to playing eleven, but we needed someone to bowl in the middle which is why we couldn't get him in. It's always nice with that kind of competition going around and a lot of the guys are missing out as well," Rohit had said, giving an insight into the team management's thinking during the West Indies T20is.

Iyer has the opportunity to cement his spot, , at least as the first-choice backup option for a role in the middle-order. Iyer had played 8 matches in 2021 at a strike rate of 136.03 but the star batter needs to up his ante if he is going to play at No. 5 and 6 regularly.