Virat Kohli and other players likely to be rested for more games ahead of 2019 World Cup

Indian cricketers and the team management will stick to their resting policy for a while as Virat Kohli and others could be rested ahead of the World Cup. The team management and the selectors are eyeing to keep their fringe players fresh ahead of the mega event next year in England.

The skipper was already rested for the Asia Cup in September after a hectic tour of England where he performed exceptionally well. In his absence, Rohit Sharma took up captaincy duties and led India to their seventh Asia Cup title. Kohli is currently back at the helm for Team India for the ongoing series against the Windies. He scored his 24th Test century in the first Test in Rajkot.

“Virat could be rested again if need be to ensure he is fit for the World Cup. It is a rotation policy which the team has initiated to keep the best combination for the World Cup in June 2019,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying to The Times of India.

Earlier this year, Kohli also missed the Nidahas Trophy, which was a T20I tournament played between India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The captain had been dealing with a back problem in January which cropped up during the Test series against South Africa. He subsequently had to cancel his county stint with Surrey due to an injury he picked up in the month of June.

Who else will be rested?

The pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are also likely to be intermittently rested ahead of the World Cup. Neither bowler is playing the ongoing Test series against the Windies. Bhuvneshwar wasn’t part of the Test series against England while Bumrah missed the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Both players had suffered injuries during the limited-overs series in the UK.

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup kicks off on May 30 with hosts England taking on South Africa. India begin their campaign on June 5 against the Proteas in Southampton, followed by a rematch of the 2015 World Cup semi-final against the defending champions Australia.

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