Virat Kohli and others could be rested: Ahead of the all-important World Cup next year, several Indian players could be rested.
Advertisement
In a bid to manage his workload, Indian captain Virat Kohli was rested for the Asia Cup. The same workload issue has provided rest to the fast bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah for the ongoing Test series against West Indies.
One understands Bumrah’s case for he had also played the Test series in England. On the other hand, Kumar had missed that series due to an injury. A potential reason behind Kumar being rested falls down to the same as mentioned above.
A report in The Times of India suggests that this trend of resting players is likely to be continued till the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to make sure that the main players remain fit during the tournament.
“Virat could be rested again if need be to ensure he is fit for the World Cup. It is a rotation policy which the team has initiated to keep the best combination for the World Cup in June 2019,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
If that is the reality, do not be surprised to see Kohli missing the upcoming ODI and T20I series against West Indies. With India winning the Asia Cup under Rohit Sharma, he has emerged out as an apt candidate to lead India in Kohli’s absence.
The rotation policy will also provide a chance for the team management to test the bench strength. India are still finding fitting candidates for at least a couple of spots in the ODI team. Giving more chances to the reserves seems to be the best way of accomplishing this target.
Citing the same in mind, the Indian selectors might well include in-form Rishabh Pant for the ODI series against West Indies.
Recently, former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik had opined for resting Kohli for the second Test against West Indies. Whether that will happen under this scheme or not, only time will tell.
Below are some of the recent Twitter reactions on Kohli:
