The question is obvious. So obvious, in fact, that I can't believe nobody else is asking it: What the heck is wrong with Lionel Messi?

The greatest player of modern times, perhaps the greatest ever footballer, and the same genius who was recently christened The Best by FIFA after which he picked up his sixth Ballon d'Or, is significantly out of form. Yes: significantly. In fact, it's arguable that by his own standards -- notwithstanding several moments of sheer beauty and monumental invention -- Messi has been playing pretty badly since the end of November.

It has been a long, long time since Barcelona's No. 10 has gone down so many blind alleys with his dribbling, had his pocket picked by players he'd normally leave gasping in a heap on the ground. A long time since he ran into defensive ambushes as if he were not aware they were there, or since he missed pass after pass, often to his own intense frustration.

Now, I hear the indignant spluttering and rising protests. Yes: Against Atletico Madrid he scored an otherworldly goal, a monstrous construction of wit, speed and power. And then there was his hat trick against Mallorca, plus a truly extraordinary "no space to shoot but I'll thrash a howitzer past the keeper anyway" against Alaves. I'm not forgetting any of those, nor his assist for Luis Suarez at Real Sociedad. However, it must be said, since his absolutely soaring performance against Borussia Dortmund in late November, his goal total, chance creation and assist counts have all decreased. But that is not the dip that must be concerning Messi and those who rely on him.

Just before the turn of the year, the 32-year-old gave an interview to La Liga. He admitted that, "As I go onto the pitch at the start of the match, I'm thinking much more about the team's play than whether I'll score or not." And it's the state of his play and Barcelona's subsequent flaccid, slow, predictable football when he's off-form that are at the heart of this critique.

There are numerous examples, and they far outweigh the normal Messi service moments since that Dortmund victory. It all began when Koke, on his 300th Liga appearance, produced one of the performances of his life to constantly harass, confuse and stifle Messi on the first night of December. Only when the 27-year-old Atletico lifer was absent from his chaperone role in the dying embers of the match did Messi erupt into life via an amazing one-two with Suarez and a scimitar-curved shot past Jan Oblak for the 1-0 win. Throughout the rest of the match, it's indisputable that Messi was picked off, ushered into bad positions, miscontrolled the ball and generally looked subdued.

I'm fully aware that Messi's genius remains intact, that his will to win is the size of a continent. And because there's a trophy to be won this week at the Spanish Super Cup (semifinal vs. Atletico Madrid, Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET; stream live on ESPN), he may well erupt into the kind of unstoppable form that allows those offended by my argument to thumb their noses at me. But that can't erode the truth of the past few weeks.

Particularly against Real Sociedad, Atleti, Alaves, and Espanyol, Messi has looked short of electricity, slightly unsure of his first touch, prone to being more easily caught and more easily anticipated. The strangest thing of all is when he's actually erupted into one of his piston-legged bursts but appears to take two or three seconds to see a pass or to make a decision, when those calculations would ordinarily have been computed in hundredths of a single second. That's bizarre to watch. Indecision? Surely not. Lack of options from his teammates? Maybe. But his normally laser-guided mind isn't operating at NASA level.

I won't give the full litany of evidence, but I'd say there are about 25 examples of moments that are simply alien to a Messi who's on regular form, let alone his stellar version. Let me pick a few, though.

Did you watch Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona? Just on the half-hour mark, Sergio Busquets fed Messi with time to turn and run, but Naldo easily nipped the ball away from him. Javi Lopez repeated that trick five minutes later, but perhaps the most strident came in the 51st minute. Suarez was holding off two defenders, Naldo and Bernardo Espinosa, the latter falling to the floor, but as Messi cut away from them with a chance to scythe Espanyol open, Marc Roca simply sweot the ball off his toes, a feat Roca then repeated with 20 minutes left.

It's not my imagination. Thirty-three-year-old veteran Manu Garcia repeatedly hoovered up possession off Messi's usually magnetic left boot in the defeat of Alaves. Igor Zubeldia, Mikel Merino and Diego Llorente all did just the same against Real Sociedad.

Across all these matches, a clutch of sensational moments aside, Messi looked melancholy. The walking in which he indulged isn't the kind Pep Guardiola once counselled us all to think of completely differently. The man Messi still reckons was his best-ever coaching influence pointed out that, under him and the later era under Luis Enrique, when the Blaugrana No. 10 shirt was being walked around the pitch when others were sprinting and sweating, it was because he was taking an X-ray of player positions, spaces and opportunities all around him -- seeing things nobody else saw so as to, later, do things that nobody else could even dream of.

That was masterful; this is mooching.

These past few weeks, Messi's ambling has repeatedly seen him ignore the chance to press, ignore the chance to pounce on a second ball; he's looked dispirited and, dare I say it, disinterested. Some of the problems he's encountered when robbed or mobbed stem from the fact that he's a couple of metres away from where he should be, a second or so slow to react to a loose ball or just infinitesimally less explosive when he tries to thrust away from a challenge (or two). Also, elite clubs rely very heavily indeed on video analysis.

The same players who thought they could catch, tackle or harass Messi when he was in Zeus-like form, and then found they couldn't, see other players of their level robbing the ball, sheep-dogging him down blind alleys and think to themselves: "This is my turn to blunt the greatest player of all time!" The more vulnerable Messi looks, the more midfielders and defenders thrive in confidence, and the harder they work to frustrate him and support their teammates' pressing.

Part of what's going on, of course, is that this month-long dip, which has still contained inventions of power and brilliance sufficient to last any other player for many weeks, looks shabby compared to the remarkable brilliance of most of the rest of 2019 -- most of the rest of his career.

Diagnosing what's going on is simply a matter of speculation. I don't claim to know. The worst thing for his club, of course, would be if he's lost faith in this Barca team and subconsciously dipped as a result. Messi's participated in an unprecedented number of interviews since the end of the summer. While emphasising his preference to stay at Barcelona, he's never forgotten to state his fundamental demand that his team stay ultra-competitive to win the biggest trophies. Or that, for him, the absolute key to his remaining elite years is to conquer Europe again -- at least once. Barcelona's form at present suggests that Napoli, far from favourites in the tie, have a fighting chance of knocking Ernesto Valverde's team out of the Champions League in the round of 16.

Instead of learning from the drubbing at Anfield in last spring's semifinal, Barcelona look intensely vulnerable away from home, consistently conceding first on the road in La Liga, and you could forgive Messi if his mood was: "Here we go again ..." Another reasonable thought is that, after a badly curtailed preseason thanks to injury and further fitness problems in the first few weeks of 2019-20, Messi is simply suffering physically, curbing a millimetre or two from his precision and his reaction time, which hauls him back within the grasp -- just -- of mere mortal footballers.

Time will tell, but when Messi is in this form, Barcelona's other flaws -- which are many, and which their captain so often disguises -- shriek out to their opponents: "We are vulnerable, and we don't have our Superman!"

Barca are little more than 50 days away from facing Napoli in Naples and six Liga matches away from the rematch against Real Madrid, having been lucky to escape without defeat in the first Clasico. How quickly Messi resets, refreshes and reestablishes his preeminence will become more and more vital by the week.

Sergino Dest has flown home from Ajax's midseason training camp in Qatar as he does not feel comfortable in the region amid political tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Dest declared for the USMNT in October, after turning down approaches from the Netherlands, and was part of Ajax's warm-weather camp in Doha.

But following the death of General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. military air strike and Iran's retaliation on a U.S. military base in Iraq, Dest requested to fly back to the Netherlands.

"Sergino Dest asked if he could leave the training camp of Ajax in Qatar," a statement from Ajax read. "He did not feel comfortable. Ajax understands his request and has responded to it."

Dest will now train with Ajax's reserves until the first team arrive back on Jan. 12. His decision comes five days after the USMNT opted to postpone their January training camp in Qatar due to the "developing situation in the region."

Ajax flew to Qatar on Jan. 4, but sources close to the club have told ESPN they opted for a private plane, rather than a commercial flight due to the increasing political tension in the Middle East. The private jet enabled them to fly over Egypt and Saudi Arabia, rather than over Iran and Iraq.

Eredivisie rivals PSV are also in Qatar, after opting for a commercial flight, but are seeking alternatives to fly back to the Netherlands as the airspace above Iran and Iraq has not yet been deemed fully safe.

Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur, who is part of the ICC cricket committee that will consider making four-day Tests mandatory as part of the World Test Championship from 2023, has shot down the proposal.

Arthur has joined the likes of Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes and Vernon Philander in opposing four-day Test cricket, which is being considered by the ICC in order to free up a calendar that is cramped with too many fixtures and T20 leagues.

"Look, I say five-day Test cricket is the way to go," Arthur said on the eve of Sri Lanka's third T20I against India in Pune. "Test cricket challenges you - it challenges you mentally, it challenges you physically and it challenges you technically. And a lot of the time on the fifth day, we've witnessed a really good Test match that wouldn't have lasted [otherwise]."

A move to cut the fifth day would ease the financial pressure on boards, but Arthur stressed that Test cricket shouldn't be tampered with because of financial or commercial reasons.

"Look, we can talk about financial pressures and that type of stuff," he said. "[But], I think the fabric of Test cricket shouldn't be messed with. You want wickets deteriorating on day five, you want thrillers that go all the way, there are a lot of really good exciting draws where one team plays it out. So, I definitely think five-day Test cricket is the way to go without a doubt."

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is also part of the ICC cricket committee, isn't in favour of four-day Test cricket as well.

"We will discuss it in the meeting and I don't know what will happen after that but my personal opinion is that it should remain five days. I would not want any change," Jaywardene had told PTI.

India coach Ravi Shastri is also not a fan of the proposal. "Four-day Test is nonsense," he told Indian news channel CNN-IBN. "If this goes on we may have limited-overs Tests. There is no need to tamper with five-day Tests. If at all they want to tamper then let the top six sides play five-day Tests and the next six be allowed to play four-day Tests. If you want preserve Tests then let the top six play more against each other. You have the shorter format to popularise the game."

West Indies opener Chris Gayle also joined the other strong voices in rejecting the idea of four-day Test cricket. "I am not a fan of that [four-day Tests]. I've played a 100 Test matches," Gayle said. "A few finish in three days, a few finish in four days, but five days Test cricket is ultimate. It sets the trend. It has been there for ages, so why go and mess with it. If they give other players opportunity to actually experience it as well because it can be a life-changing experience to play five days of Test cricket. It tests your mental state so you can cope in life as well."

The ICC is set to meet in March 2020 to discuss the four-day Test proposal.

The ECB have announced that the majority of adult tickets for the Hundred will be priced at £30 or less in an attempt to boost attendances, with under-16s tickets available at £5 each and children under five admitted for free.

While there is some level of discrepancy depending on venue and timing, the competition's managing director Sanjay Patel stressed that the ECB had "put families at the heart of our ticket pricing for the Hundred", with some tickets cheaper for the new tournament than for Vitality Blast games at the same venues.

ALSO READ: ECB deny downplaying Blast amid fears for Hundred's ticket sales

Despite many of them voicing concerns about the competition and its perceived implications for their clubs, county members will have first access to tickets in a pre-sale window from January 15-31. That is followed by a priority window for fans who have registered interest in the competition on its website from February 12-28, while general sale begins on April 8.

The ECB's chairman Colin Graves suggested last month that an occupancy rate of 60-65 percent was the minimum standard, and that "if we get above that it will be a success".

And while there are unlikely to be many problems selling out Lord's or The Oval, games at the Ageas Bowl and Cardiff could prove to be a harder sell.

To use Cardiff as an example, Glamorgan's total attendance in the Vitality Blast last summer was 31,266 across seven home games, giving an average crowd of 4,467 at a 16,000-seater venue. The county stressed that poor weather and clashes with other sporting fixtures in the city had affected their crowds, but with two of Welsh Fire's home games scheduled for Sunday evenings and another on a Tuesday, it could be equally tough to shift tickets for those games.

ESPNcricinfo revealed in October that some grounds fear the decision to stage games on every day of the week will create challenges for ticket sales, with games on Monday and Tuesday evenings expected to be a hard sell. Next year's T20 Blast, by contrast, sees a majority of fixtures scheduled on Thursday and Friday nights or on weekend afternoons.

Tickets for the women's competition start at £8, with a top early-bird price of £18, while tickets for the men's tournament range from £10-35 at their initial price. For men's and women's finals day, which will be held at Lord's and Hove, tickets will be available from £30 and £12 respectively.

"We can't wait to welcome cricket fans and those new to the sport to the opening season of the Hundred to see England's World Cup heroes Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan and Heather Knight play," Patel said.

"We have put families at the heart of our ticket pricing for the Hundred. When compared with summer holiday favourites and other major sporting events, the Hundred offers brilliant entertainment and tremendous value. Buying early will guarantee the best value tickets with compelling prices available across all men's and women's matches."

Sergino Dest has flown home from Ajax's midseason training camp in Qatar as he does not feel comfortable in the region amid political tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Dest declared for the USMNT in October, after turning down approaches from the Netherlands, and was part of Ajax's warm-weather camp in Doha.

But following the death of General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. military air strike and Iran's retaliation on a U.S. military base in Iraq, Dest requested to fly back to the Netherlands.

"Sergino Dest asked if he could leave the training camp of Ajax in Qatar," a statement from Ajax read. "He did not feel comfortable. Ajax understands his request and has responded to it."

Dest will now train with Ajax's reserves until the first team arrive back on Jan. 12. His decision comes five days after the USMNT opted to postpone their January training camp in Qatar due to the "developing situation in the region."

Ajax flew to Qatar on Jan. 4, but sources close to the club have told ESPN they opted for a private plane, rather than a commercial flight due to the increasing political tension in the Middle East. The private jet enabled them to fly over Egypt and Saudi Arabia, rather than over Iran and Iraq.

Eredivisie rivals PSV are also in Qatar, after opting for a commercial flight, but are seeking alternatives to fly back to the Netherlands as the airspace above Iran and Iraq has not yet been deemed fully safe.

Even Sam Warburton admits he thought his Six Nations days were over.

After making 34 appearances in eight tournaments between 2010 and 2017 - which included two titles and a Grand Slam - even the man himself thought his association with Europe's elite competition was over.

But in just over three weeks, Warburton returns for the 2020 tournament as a coach after being appointed by Wayne Pivac as a breakdown technical advisor.

A move which caught the man himself by surprise.

"I never thought I would be involved in the national set-up again," said Warburton.

"I can't wait. As a player it's full of pressure, bit of nerves and anxiety.

"As a coach it is just exciting. Having two years out of it I feel more privileged to be back involved.

"I never had aspirations to coach when I was playing but I guess when you are in a particular place and time. things worked for a reason."

Warburton's step into coaching resulted from a conversation with Pivac about what he felt was a neglected area. The result was his appointment to work alongside defence coach Byron Hayward.

"The reason I never thought I was going to be a coach was because there was no such thing as breakdown coaches before this one," admitted Warburton.

"There was never a role I thought would suit me but now this one has come up it is a nice fit. I was chatting to Wayne about his ideas and things I thought we could add.

"I was not pitching it for myself but I mentioned in rugby we focus a lot on scrums and line-outs, attack and defence.

"You might have 10 or 12 scrums and line-outs a game, but you have about 200 breakdowns and perhaps we don't upskill the players enough in that area.

"It has been overlooked and more attention could be focused on that. The next thing I know is a couple of conversations later, Wayne asked me if I wanted to do it.

"I was just flattered he put his faith in me to do such a big role."

So what type of coach can we expect Warburton to be?

"My role is purely to help and try and get the players to improve," said Warburton.

"I was the same as a player and a captain, I would never want to model myself on any particular player. I have always thought you have to be true to yourself.

"The moment you try and be someone you are not, people will see straight through it. I will just be me and the people who know me will know what that is. I will be in the campaigns as committed as if I was a player."

Warburton was involved with Wales during the build-up to the 43-33 uncapped win over a Warren Gatland-coached Barbarians in November 2019 which was Pivac's first game in charge.

Warburton will be a man forever associated with Gatland. The coach made the flanker his Wales captain at 22 and chose Warburton to lead the British and Irish Lions on tours to Australia in 2013 and New Zealand four years later.

So he is well placed to assess the two regimes as he predicts evolution not revolution.

"There is not the huge amount of change people might expect because when things have worked so well, it would be silly to knock it all down and rebuild it," said Warburton.

"There are a lot of fundamental things and foundations that have been put in place which is great and it is how we can add value in certain areas.

"The game plan evolved under Warren from being quite physical in the early days to slowly being more expansive.

"From what I have seen with Wayne in that Barbarians week and his time at Scarlets, I think that will develop again under him with Wales."

Warburton insists he will be happy to wear a tracksuit after admitting he is happy with life since his playing retirement in July 2018 aged 29.

"The one thing I miss most about being in that elite environment is you have 50 or 60 people all aligned in the same direction to achieve the same goal," said Warburton.

"That is special.

"When I went back into the Barbarians week, my twin brother Ben, who is a physio asked me if I had missed playing at all.

"I missed the Welsh team and the environment massively but I don't miss playing.

"My time has gone and I am lucky to have the career I have had. I am privileged to have done it 74 times and I know there are people who would love to have done it just once.

"I will now take great satisfaction in playing a small part in trying to help people follow in the footsteps of the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Jonathan Davies. That is my role now."

Struggling Ospreys need to adopt the approach of Irish side Leinster, says new performance director Mike Ruddock.

The Welsh region have lost 13 out of 14 games this season, are bottom of the Pro14 Conference A and are without a win in the European Champions Cup.

Ruddock, Wales' 2005 Grand Slam winning coach, who was Leinster's director of rugby between 1997 and 2000, has been appointed until the end of the season.

"The Leinster model is what we should be looking at," said Ruddock.

"We need to develop that affinity and affection for your home region, get the academy boys through then nurture and develop that young talent."

"If you are going to go overseas get some really good, class guys again that can be cultural architects and help to shape the culture and drive the culture and standards at the club."

Ruddock joined the Liberty Stadium region as a consultant at the start of December after they parted company with coach Allen Clarke.

"I think it's a matter of just getting some self-belief in that process and certainly key to that is developing some of our youngsters," Ruddock told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"Creating that identity and always driving your decision making with what's best for the Ospreys - that's what I'll be trying to do.

"If that means bringing a couple of youngsters that might take an extra year or two before they absolutely nail it, well that's what we might have to do.

"But it's in the best interest of the Ospreys that if we lose the odd game along the way then that's what it's about."

Ruddock returns to a city where he was coach of Swansea RFC before embarking on a career that has seen spells with Leinster, Dragons and Worcester as well as two years in charge of Wales.

The 60-year-old is backing his ability and experience to make a difference at the struggling region.

"I've had my ups and I've had my downs like every coach and you learn things along the way," Ruddock said.

"I've got to try and work with key people there to use those learnings to try and help shape the future.

"I am backing myself to try and make a difference, certainly in the future.

"It might not show over the next two or three months but hopefully over time it will start to come through and ultimately I've got that emotional attachment.

"I really want us to work for the Ospreys and make it a more successful future for them."

Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny says he is loving rugby again after recovering from one of the most difficult seasons of his career.

Halfpenny missed most of the 2018-19 campaign after suffering concussion against Australia in November 2018.

The 31-year-old is now in fine form for Scarlets and favourite to be the Wales full-back in the Six Nations opener against Italy on 1 February.

"I am enjoying being on the field after a difficult period," said Halfpenny.

"To overcome that from last season and be out on the field, I am just so grateful to be back playing."

Halfpenny's contract is up at the end of the season and fellow Wales and British and Irish Lions full-back Liam Williams is returning to Scarlets from Saracens.

His purple patch has resulted in Scarlets general manager Jon Daniels and outgoing head coach Brad Mooar saying they want to keep him at the region.

He has refused to be drawn on his long-term future but has welcomed the return of Williams who could feature for Scarlets this season if Saracens offload the full-back early.

"It's great for Welsh rugby," said Halfpenny.

"For the Scarlets, he is a world-class player and will bring real quality to the region.

"To have that strength in depth in the squad is what we are trying to create with boys pushing each other for places."

Williams is battling to be fit for the Six Nations opening weekend with Halfpenny in pole position to wear the Wales number 15 jersey against Italy as they start the defence of their title.

Head coach Wayne Pivac will be taking charge of his first competition after replacing fellow New Zealander Warren Gatland who led Wales to the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Japan.

"The World Cup was an incredible experience but to get to a semi-final and just fall short was devastating because we went there believing we could go all the way," said Halfpenny.

"This is a new era though and is hugely exciting. We are looking to build and continue on the success Wales have had.

"Winning the Grand Slam last season we are going into the Six Nations as defending champions and we go into the tournament looking to defend that title.

"The goal for the squad is dealing with the expectation and going out to retain our title again."

Before that, Halfpenny will face his former side Toulon in the Challenge Cup at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday and then travel to face London Irish the following weekend.

"We have some big games coming up over the next two weeks with Scarlets," said Halfpenny.

"It has been a pretty pleasing Christmas period which has allowed us to gain some momentum going into Europe.

"Saturday is going to be a huge test for us. Toulon are a great side with real quality across the park.

"It is huge for us for our progress in Europe and to keep ourselves alive, we need to win."

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is not interested in a move to play in Major League Soccer, his agent has told ESPN.

Jonathan Barnett said the Wales international, who has won four Champions Leagues, is "going nowhere" in the January transfer window and is "very unlikely" to leave Madrid in the summer.

- When does the transfer window reopen?
- All major completed transfer deals

Bale has a contract at the Bernabeu until 2022, which he signed in October 2016 but was expected to move on last summer when Madrid coach Zidane said he hoped to sell him.

The 30-year-old's salary and the fact that Madrid would be unwilling to let a player of his status go without a significant transfer fee mean potential destinations are limited.

It has been a difficult season for Bale, with the row over his "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that Order" flag celebration leading to him being whistled by fans at the Bernabeu and questions about his Real Madrid future.

That came in November after missing a month through an injury picked up on international duty with Wales.

Since then, Bale has made three starts for Madrid -- including against Barcelona in El Clasico -- and four substitute appearances, without scoring.

He is absent from Real Madrid's Spanish Supercopa squad in Saudi Arabia with a respiratory infection.

Coach Zinedine Zidane has not ruled out the possibility of Bale flying out to join his team mates for Sunday's final in Jeddah.

Big Picture

The only match of the T20I series so far has taught us a few things. The first is that India have their seam-bowling back-ups for the T20 World Cup fairly sorted. With Jasprit Bumrah not picking up a wicket until his penultimate over in Indore, it was Navdeep Saini at the top and Shardul Thakur at the death who provided the breakthroughs that stopped Sri Lanka from changing gears at crucial points. There was also the birth of the idea that Virat Kohli, perhaps, could take the No. 4 spot at the tournament in October, after India promoted Shreyas Iyer to No. 3.

At the other end of the spectrum are Sri Lanka's batting woes, even on friendly surfaces. Barring Kusal Perera, their batsmen have not come through consistently enough. They struggled against 140kph deliveries, they couldn't get on top of the spin bowlers, and the frustration was visible on captain Lasith Malinga's face when the cameras panned to the Sri Lanka dugout after Dhananjaya de Silva's dismissal. The harsh reality for Sri Lanka is that they are not automatic qualifiers for the T20 World Cup, and in order to not trip up at the qualifying rounds, they need to develop a clearer batting plan.

The gulf between the sides may appear wide, but there are plenty of subplots to look ahead to in Pune. Who will win round two of the Shikhar Dhawan-KL Rahul audition to be Rohit Sharma's partner in October? Will Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson continue to warm the bench? Will India bat first if they win the toss? And if none of that excites you, remember, this series is still undecided. India have lost a game in each of their last three home T20I series, and that should keep Sri Lanka motivated for the the final T20I.

Form guide

India WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLLW

In the spotlight

Angelo Mathews could play his first T20I since August 2018. He was one of the first to bat in the nets during practice on the eve of the match. He bowled as well. With Isuru Udana injured, Mathews is a strong contender to return to the side. In his last four white-ball internationals, he scored 113, 48, 52* and 87. When he does bowl, he offers control with the new ball, allowing Malinga to bowl more at the death. His captain still calls him the team's "best finisher".

Shikhar Dhawan says he's a carefree man. But it doesn't always show in his batting. His strike rate hovered around 110 in Indore while the rest of his team-mates played far more attractive cricket. The pressure to remain one of India's first-choice T20I openers is building on the left-hander given Rahul's steady rise as an aggressive batsman in the Powerplay. He has another opportunity to reinstate his worth.

Team news

Oshada Fernando suffered a blow to his hand in the nets but does not seem to be in doubt for tomorrow's game. Udana, meanwhile, has been ruled out, and will most likely be replaced by Mathews.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Perera (wk), 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Oshada Fernando, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Dhananjaya de Silva, 9 Wanindu Hasaranga, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt), 11 Lahiru Kumara

India may hand Chahal a game instead of Kuldeep Yadav. It continues to look difficult for Pandey or Samson to get a game with India having no injury concerns in their first XI.

India (possible): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/ Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

Expect an even contest between bat and ball. Conditions are expected to be cool with clear skies, although dew may play a factor in the second innings.

Stats and trivia

• India were bowled out for 101 in the last T20I held at Pune. Incidentally, their opponents then were Sri Lanka.

• Mathews averages 78.00 in India with the bat in T20Is.

• Since the start of this home season in September 2019, Virat Kohli averages 147 in T20Is.

• Sri Lanka are looking to avoid a fifth straight T20I loss.