Irfan Pathan sends a message to the five new faces in India’s squad for Sri Lanka series

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has sent a message to Devdutt Padikkal, Krishnappa Gowtham, Nitish Rana, Chetan Sakariya, and Ruturaj Gaikwad after they received their maiden national call-ups.

The BCCI announced India’s 20-man squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka last night. The team features six uncapped players, but Varun Chakravarthy has been a part of the Indian T20I squad before.

IPL stars Padikkal, Gowtham, Rana, Sakariya, and Gaikwad are the five new faces in the team. Irfan Pathan wished all five players long international careers.

“Wishing you guys all the luck for the future. May you guys play long for team India and make everyone proud. @Sakariya55 @devdpd07 @NitishRana_27 @Ruutu1331 @gowthamyadav88 #TeamIndia,” Irfan Pathan wrote on Twitter.

The BCCI had to name a second-string team for the Sri Lankan series because the Indian Test squad is currently in the United Kingdom.

Virat Kohli and his men will play the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand this month. They will then rest for a few weeks in England before locking horns with the home team in a 5-match Test series.

Can Chetan Sakariya become a successful left-arm fast bowler for India like Irfan Pathan?

The Sri Lanka series will allow the BCCI to try some new names in the international arena ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup. India currently needs an excellent left-arm fast bowler ahead of the tournament.

T Natarajan seems to be the first choice of the selectors and Chetan Sakariya also has an opportunity to cement his place in the squad now. Sakariya hails from the same state as Irfan Pathan. The Gujarat-based fast bowler impressed the fans in the first phase of IPL 2021.

It will be interesting to see if Sakariya can become a successful fast bowler like Irfan Pathan.