For the T20 series next month in India against New Zealand, the hosts will be expected to rest most of their senior players as the series will be commencing within less than a week after the final of the T20 World Cup. It is expected that a young team will play the three-match T20 series as the games will be taking place on 17, 19, and 21 November at Jaipur, Ranchi, and Kolkata. It will be followed by two Tests starting 25 November in Kanpur and 3 December in Mumbai.
The Indian stalwarts like skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah have all been in bio-bubbles since the start of the World Test Championship in Southampton in June.
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According to the reports of PTI, one of their sources tracking the development said, “Most of the Indian players, the senior ones have now been in three back-to-back bubbles for four months. Possibly after T20 World Cup, you would want them to take a break and rejuvenate before the South Africa tour starting December end.”
It’s a foregone conclusion that the likes of Kohli, Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami will require some time off. Even Rohit, who has been playing non-stop since the home series against England, will require some rest but with Kohli stepping down from T20 captaincy, it remains to be seen how the workload management is dealt with.
In such a scenario, players like, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, and Venkatesh Iyer will be expected to play in the short series. Speculations have been brewing that Rahul Dravid can be seen serving as the interim coach during the New Zealand series. Incumbent Ravi Shastri’s tenure ends with this month’s T20 World Cup.
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However, the NCA head will also be required to plans things for the U-19 World Cup next year with the India Colts team, which would be selected for the Challengers and a four-nation junior meet slated after that. The BCCI is confident that a new coach will be appointed in due course of time. Before that, they would have to remove Madan Lal from the Cricket Advisory Committee as he is above 70 and there is an age cap mandated by the Lodha committee reforms
