India take on Sri Lanka in the first of a three-match ODI series at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday, December 10.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the ODI and T20I series, Rohit Sharma will lead the side.
Full list of India's ODI captains
The Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper, who tasted a lot of success in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has the opportunity to lead his side to the top of ICC ODI rankings as India will be able to leapfrog South Africa if they manage a 3-0 whitewash against the islanders. The hosts will be confident as they had whitewashed Sri Lanka 5-0 when they toured the island nation earlier this year.
Pandya, Bumrah return
Despite the upcoming series having no real context, the likes of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who have returned to the side after a brief break, will get some crucial match practice ahead of the all-important tour to South Africa, starting January 5, 2018.
India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has struggled in the longer format, will also be looking to regain form in the ODIs.
Injury woes for Team India
The Mumbai batsman might even open the batting on Sunday in Dharamsala as Shikhar Dhawan missed training on Friday due to fever. Kedar Jadhav is also in danger of sitting out after pulling his hamstring but skipper Rohit maintained that the two players will be assessed before taking a final call.
Also read: Likely XIs and pitch conditions for 1st ODI
Perera 7th captain for Sri Lanka in 2017
On the other hand, Sri Lanka are set to be led by all-rounder Thisara Perera, who is the seventh man to captain the side in 2017 after Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chamaral.
Sri Lanka are heading into the series on the back of losing 21 of their last 26 ODIs, which includes 5-0 whitewashes against India at home and Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this year.
The visitors though should take confidence from the positives that came out of Sri Lanaka's two draws during the recently-concluded Test series.
The absence of Dinesh Chandimal, who is dropped and injured Dhananjaya de Silva -- the two batsmen who scored centuries in the Test series -- is likely to hurt the visitors, but the returns of all-rounder Asela Gunaratne and fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep come as a huge boost.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The first ODI in Dharamsala will start at 11:30am IST, 6am GMT.
Live streaming and TV coverage
India: Star Sports 1 and 3, DD Sports; Live streaming: Hotstar
Sri Lanka: Star Sports
UK: Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event; Live streaming: Sky Go
US: Willow TV
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.
Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (captain), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Sachith Pathirana, Kusal Perera.
2nd ODI in Mohali on December 13 (Wednesday) - 11.30 AM IST
3rd ODI in Visakhapatnam on December 17 (Sunday) - 1.30 PM IST
