Indian team to be announced on February 15: BCCI has disclosed the date when the Indian squad for the upcoming series will be announced.
Indian selectors will meet on February 15 (Friday) to announce the T20I and the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia. The series will commence with the first T20I to be played on February 24 at Visakhapatnam.
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The five ODIs will be India’s last international assignment before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Slated to play the Indian Premier League before the world cup, the selectors would be looking to name the squad for only the first two ODIs initially.
If the latest reports are to be believed, the selectors are highly likely to rest vice-captain Rohit Sharma for some matches. It is believed that the dropped duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Lokesh Rahul will be named in the squad in Sharma’s place.
Workload management will be kept in mind
The same was also mentioned by a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) source. Citing workload management, the source added that is it vital for some players to get ample rest.
“Workload management of the senior players will definitely be the main area of discussion as we all know that the Indians have been on the road and the selectors and team management have made a conscious effort to ensure that the players get ample rest between games and series.
“Like you saw, regular skipper Virat Kohli was rested for the back end of the New Zealand series. You might see Rohit Sharma rested for some games here,” a BCCI source said.
However, he also added that it is important to make sure that resting senior players doesn’t soften India’s chances of beating Australia at home.
“But it is also important to note that the Indians would want to keep the foot on the pedal and ensure that they don’t give the Australians any momentum going into the World Cup. A good series against India would mean a confidence booster for the team. So, there has to be a balance so that the composition of the team is not affected,” he explained.
