India may rest some of its senior players in the white-ball series against West Indies later this month. The Men in Blue is set to tour the Caribbean islands and USA for 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is between July 22 and August 7. The squad for the series was supposed to be announced in the last few days but it got delayed as the selectors are yet to take a call on the rest of the issue.
According to a report in Cricaz, chief selector Chetan Sharma, who is currently in England, is likely to hold talks with senior players on the issue after the Edgbaston Test.
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While senior players including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant may be rested, the selectors are reportedly not keen to rest skipper Rohit Sharma once again. The senior players were also rested for the home series against South Africa and the tour of Ireland for the three-match T20I competition. In the absence of Rohit and other senior players, Hardik Pandya led the team while VVS Laxman traveled as coach in Ireland.
Head coach Rahul Dravid has worked with many captains since taking over. Hence, the selectors feel that having Rohit as the full-time captain will give more stability to the team. Rohit was ruled out of the 5th Test against England at Edgbaston following a COVID-19 infection.
Rohit has now joined the squad in England and will lead India in the upcoming T20I and ODI series. India will begin their white-ball campaign with a T20I match against the hosts in Southampton followed by games in Birmingham and Nottingham.
Two of the three-match ODI series will be played at The Oval and Lord’s in London on 12 and 14 July. The team will go to Manchester on 17 July for the final match.
In the remaining 5th Test at Edgbaston, India lost to England by 7 wickets. Chasing 378 runs in the final innings, the hosts relied on centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. The series ended in a 2-2 draw as India missed an opportunity to register a series win in England after 15 years.
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