Kohli gets break, Rohit to lead in SL T20 tri-series
Rohit Sharma will lead India in the upcoming T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday resting several top names for the tour, including Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
A 15-member squad was named for the tournament where Bangladesh is the third side.
There were a number of changes made to the squad that was named for the tour to South Africa with skipper Kohli and Dhoni among those who have been rested.
The others to get a break are Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
PERFECT RECORD
Although Rohit has been going through a rough patch, he holds a perfect record as captain while leading the side in T20s.
After Kohli made way on Saturday owing to a back injury, Rohit led the side in the third T20 against South Africa.
He scored just 11 but managed to help his side emerge victorious, thus joining Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed and Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga as the sixth captain in history to win their first four matches as captain.
He, however, had a forgettable tour of South Africa, scoring just 32 runs in T20 games besides another 170 in six ODIs.
“We’ve kept in mind the workload and upcoming schedule while finalising the team for the Nidahas Trophy. The high-performance team has suggested that adequate rest should be given to our fast bowlers to help improve athletic performance, maximise rest and prevent injury,” chairman of selectors MSK Prasad was quoted as saying according to a statement released by the BCCI.
“Mr MS Dhoni was not available for selection as he had requested for rest,” it added.
The shuffle also means that there will be a fresh lease of life for the likes of Rishabh Pant and Suresh Raina, who are yet to cement their place in the squad.
India will lock horns with Sri Lanka in the inaugural game on March 6 before taking on Bangladesh two days later.
All the matches are scheduled to be played in Colombo, with the final slated to take place on March 18.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wk)