Captain Rohit Sharma on Monday said that India were not the favourites to win the Nidahas Trophy T20 tri-series. The tournament which starts on Tuesday, also features hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The stand-in captain said that the Indians, without many star names who have been rested, don’t have the upper hand as the shortest format of the game is unpredictable.

“We won’t label ourselves as favourites. The T20 format is unpredictable and you have got to be on the money at all times. Both our oppositions are strong and we look forward to a good contest,” Rohit said ahead of the series opener against Sri Lanka.

A number of senior players are missing from India’s 15-member squad. Captain Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav have all been given a rest following a long tour of South Africa.

While Rohit will lead the side, Shikhar Dhawan has been named his deputy. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has featured in two T20s, and rookie quick Mohammed Siraj, have been given an opportunity. Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar will fight it out for the spinning all-rounder’s spot.

The tournament is being held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence.

Matches will be played under lights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The tournament follows a round-robin format with all the three teams playing each other twice with the top two moving to the final on March 18.

INDIA LIKELY TEAM:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Dinesh Karthik (wk), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Deepak Hooda, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj