India vs Sri Lanka: Team India hand 5 ODI caps for the first time in 40 years

India and Sri Lanka are locking horns in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) on Friday in Colombo.

Having sealed the 3-game series 2-0, India have decided to hand a debut to 5 players. For the first time in 40 years, India have handed an ODI cap to five players in the same match.

Samson, who made his India debut in 2015, has played 7 T20Is. The wicketkeeper-batsman is yet to seal his place in the team and which is why he has taken this long to play his maiden ODI for India. He received his ODI cap from India captain Shikhar Dhawan in Colombo on Friday. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has been in the professional circuit since 2011.

Rana, who began his professional career in cricket in 2013 with the Delhi team, received his ODI cap from India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Rana is a household name in the IPL, having cemented his place in the KKR squad.

Having played just 7 List A for Saurashtra, left-arm pacer Sakariya was handed a dream debut for India in the third ODI vs Sri Lanka on Friday. He received his ODI cap from Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He rose to fame last year when Rajasthan Royals bought him for INR 1.2 crore ahead of the 2021 edition.

The Karnataka bowling all-rounder became India’s fifth oldest debutant in the ODIs, after Farooq Engineer (36 years), Ajit Wadekar (33 years), Dilip Joshi (32 years and 350 days) and Abid Ali (32 years and 307 days). Krishnappa (32 years and 276 days) received his ODI cap from a fellow all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Fittingly, Rahul was handed his ODI cap by none other than Deepak on Friday. The Mumbai Indians bowler, who made his India debut in 2019, has represented his country so far in three T20Is.