Indian captain Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the team’s limited-over series against West Indies, which is set to be played in the United States and the Caribbean from August 3.
“Virat and Jasprit will certainly be rested for the three-match T20Is and three-match ODI series. Virat has been playing since start of Australia series and Bumrah’s workload management is also paramount. They will join the team before the Test series,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
The duo, however, will be back for the two-game Test series. India are all set to play three T20Is against the West Indies, two of which will be played at Fort Lauderhill in Florida on August 3 and 4. The team will travel to Guyana for the third T20I.
There are also reports that other senior members will be given a time off as well given that the team will be afresh from a grueling World Cup schedule. As far as the tour is concerned, it is said that the Test matches were primarily scheduled at the start of the limited-over series, but the BCCI and the Cricket West Indies have mutually agreed on the fact that the games will be played after the T20s and the ODIs.
“With first Test in Antigua starting August 22, there would be enough time for the key members in the World Cup squad to get much needed rest,” he added.
Both Kohli ad Bumrah are expected to join their team-mates before the three-day practice match in Antigua from August 17-19. It is expected that the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari will be the part of the A games.
Meanwhile, this West Indies tour is believed a part of the selection committee’s process of the T20 team selection for next year’s World T20 in Australia, where the likes of Krunal Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Chahar, Sanju Samson will be considered.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / Cricket World Cup
