India bowl in first T20I against Sri Lanka, hand Vaishnavi Sharma a debut

Visitors included Shashini Gimhani, the ambidextrous wristspinner, for the series opener

Toss India chose to bowl vs Sri Lanka

Returning to action for the first time since becoming ODI world champions, India put Sri Lanka into bat in the opening match of the five-T20I series in Visakhapatnam. It was a cold evening there, with temperatures expected to drop as the game progresses. This game is the start of India's road to the T20 World Cup 2026 in June, after suffering a group-stage exit in the last edition in 2024.

India handed a debut to 19-year-old left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur handing her the cap.

"Dew will play a huge role," Harmanpreet said about India's choice to bowl first. They went in with three seamers in the XI - two allrounders in Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy, as well as Kranti Gaud, who was preferred over Renuka Singh.

Jemimah Rodrigues, the Player of the Match in the World Cup semi-final, was pencilled in at No. 3, ahead of Harleen Deol. N Shree Charani rounded off the XI.

Sri Lanka went in with two seamers and three spin options, with captain Chamari Athapaththu the additional offspinner in the mix. Shashini Gimhani, the ambidextrous wristspinner and only 17 years of age, found a spot in the XI.

They are also without their experienced wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani for this tour, with young Kaushani Nuthyangana taking the gloves.

This is Sri Lanka's first bilateral T20I tour of India since February 2016.

India: 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Amanjot Kaur 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Kranti Gaud, 10 Vaishnavi Sharma, 11 N Shree Charani

Sri Lanka: 1 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 2 Hasini Perera, 3 Vishmi Gunaratne, 4 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 5 Kavisha Dilhari, 6 Nilakshika Silva, 7 Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), 8 Inoka Ranaweera, 9 Malki Madara, 10 Kawya Kavindi, 11 Shashini Gimhani