Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies. Kuldeep Yadav will make his comeback to the Indian team after his finger injury. However, it’s learned that the selection committee led by Chetan Sharma will continue to back Kohli and he remains an integral part of the team plan for the T20 world cup to be held in November.
India are currently playing England in an ODI series where they lead 1-0. Kohli, who was out of the 1st ODI with a groin injury, is likely to miss the second one as well.
There has been much hand wringing over Kohli’s form for a while now. He hasn’t hit a hundred in the last two years. Legendary former players like Kapil Dev have questioned his place in the team. Incidentally, Kapil had predicted the decline of Kohli the batsman in early 2020 itself; he had said that Kohli’s eyesight could be a factor in slowing down of the reflexes and suggested that Kohli should do special exercises to improve the reflex and hand-eye coordination.
The selectors wish to be careful about the injury lest it flares up into something more serious. Groin strains can easily aggregate into a proper tear if the player rushes himself into the thick of things. A quick single or a swift turnaround during a double can unknowingly worsen a player’s condition if he takes the field without being hundred percent fit.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav has recovered from his injury and completed his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He had injured his finger while batting in the nets during India’s T20I series against South Africa at home.
The selection committee has also given rest to Bumrah keeping the workload management in mind. Bumrah has been playing non-stop cricket and with the Indian team to play a few more series before the T20 World Cup, the selectors felt it would be better to let him have a break.
The five-match T20I series against the West Indies will start from July 29 and will go on till August 7. The first match will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad, followed by the other two games, both of which will take place at the Warner Park in St Kitts.
The series will conclude with the final two games to be played at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Florida.
India have announced a 16-member squad for the three-match ODI series in West Indies where Shikhar Dhawan will be captaining the side while Ravindra Jadeja will be his deputy. India will lock horns in three ODIs in Trinidad, which will begin from July 22.
Indian stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Shami, and Hardik Pandya have been given rest. The team management has already stated its aim of having a good look at the bench strength in the build-up to the 2022 T20 World Cup in October.
After their early exit in the UAE T20 World Cup, India have tried as many as 27 players in 16 T20Is, and 21 each in six ODIs and eight Tests until the Edgbaston Test.