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Xtra Time Web Desk:  As India prepares for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, captain Rohit Sharma finds himself grappling with a tough decision regarding the wicketkeeper’s role. With Rishabh Pant returning to the squad after a severe accident, the team now has to choose between Pant and KL Rahul, who admirably filled the position during Pant's absence in 2023, including during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the subsequent tour of South Africa.

In the pre-match press conference, Rohit acknowledged the challenge of picking between two talented players. "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," he said. "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."

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KL Rahul’s batting performance as a wicketkeeper has been impressive. In 35 matches, he has scored 1355 runs at an average of 58.91, with two hundreds and ten fifties, along with 48 dismissals. Pant, on the other hand, made 336 runs in 12 games in 2022, including his maiden ODI hundred against England.

Rohit also emphasized the importance of the ODI series itself, treating it as a crucial contest rather than mere preparation for future tournaments. "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 stated.

The captain also addressed his recent retirement from T20Is, a decision he announced after leading India to a historic T20 World Cup win in June 2024. Despite stepping away from the format, Rohit admitted he still feels mentally connected to T20 cricket. "I feel like I’ve been rested from the T20s like it used to happen in the past. And there will be a big tournament coming up and we have to get ready for T20s again. I still feel it’s like that so I don’t think I’m completely out of the format."

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Even we are not over your T20I retirement, @ImRo45 ????

What's your take? ????#SonySportsNetwork #SLvIND #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/AMt7HXLR6U

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 1, 2024

Rohit’s T20I career ended on a high note, with him finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup 2024, amassing 257 runs from eight innings. He also retired as the highest run-scorer in T20Is with 4231 runs from 151 innings.

Looking ahead, Rohit will be making his return to ODIs for the first time since the ODI World Cup 2023, where he scored 597 runs from 11 innings. The India ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka includes notable players like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant, promising a competitive series starting Thursday, August 1.

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*India ODI Squad:* Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.