BCCI is to give a much-needed rest to captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in August.
Jasprit Bumrah, an Indian fast bowler, is also expected to miss out on the ODIs.
One of Hardik Pandya or KL Rahul would most likely captain India in their absence.
These two players have been given time off after a grueling schedule that began with the IPL.
It is said that both Rohit and Kohli demanded extension of break time by BCCI so as to heal and refresh themselves for the next international assignments.
This will be his first break in almost half a year for Rohit. Since December-January South Africa Test series, then Afghanistan T20Is, England Test series, followed by IPL plus the recently culminated T20 World Cup he has been part of every team.
“Both are automatic choices in ODI set up and the three 50 over games against England before the Champions Trophy is good enough practice for them. For next few months, they both will prioritize Tests and India will play 10 of them between September to January,” said a PTI source on anonymity from BCCI .
India’s logical path takes it into a two test match series with Bangladesh and then New Zealand where they are expected to play three tests before playing five matches against Australia at their own backyard in highly anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Given this context, it seems that selectors want to manage senior players’ workload better going forward.
“The Champions Trophy will happen in mid February and they don’t need to go for a week-long 3 match ODIs in Sri Lanka. If they want, they are most welcome but I guess they would want rest,” added another source .
KL Rahul’s decision been renowned especially lately when he led ODI team during South Africa tour while Pandya appears as Rohit’s immediate replacement as the next captain.
However, KL Rahul, who recently captained the ODI team in South Africa, remains a strong contender and cannot be discounted from the selection process.
