At least five Indian players, including captain Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, will be rested for the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka. According to Times of India, Rohit Sharma will lead the team in Kohli’s absence. Also, a few young faces will be a part of the Indian team for the T20 Internationals.
Keeping in mind the hectic South Africa series, which will get over on Saturday, the players and BCCI have mutually agreed to rest few top cricketers for the T20I series.
“What is the point of sending these cricketers after such a hectic South African tour,” a BCCI official told TOI.
The selectors will pick some new names on Sunday. With Kedar Jadhav too in the sick bay, there could be as many as six openings for the new-look Indian team. Two selectors, including chairman of the selection panel MSK Prasad, had a chat with Delhi’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rishab Pant at the Palam cricket grounds after the Vijay Hazare match between Delhi and Andhra. In all likelihood, Pant will replace Dhoni.
Suresh Raina will also be picked for the upcoming series to fill the number 4 or number 5 slot in the Indian team. The southpaw impressed the selectors with his performance in the Syed Mushtaq T20 trophy last month.
The Nidahas Trophy will be played from March 6 to March 18. Bangladesh will be the third team in the competition.
