Virat Kohli unlikely to be rested for West Indies tour

After their semi-final heartbreak in the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand in Manchester, Team India is set to get back on the field with their tour of the West Indies. The tour is scheduled to get underway on August 3 at Lauderhill, Florida with the T20I series. The 20-overs games will be followed by a three-match ODI series and a two-match Test series. Since the series closely follows the World Cup, there has been a question mark around the team selection.

A few of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials are currently in London and a meeting to decide the squad is most likely to take place on July 19. There have also been reports that some players from the squad that played in England may be rested for the upcoming series in the Caribbean. However, it has now been suggested that a full-strength squad will be picked, with one or two exceptions.

Kohli likely to travel West Indies

Most importantly, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is expected to be a part of the one-month long tour that ends on September 3 as per Mumbai Mirror. Jasprit Bumrah, who was India’s leading wicket-taker in the mega event in England and Wales, may be given a break bearing in mind that the team has a lot of cricket ahead. The 25-year-old picked up 18 wickets in nine matches at an impressive economy of 4.41 in the World Cup and was the pick among the Indian bowlers.

There are also doubts over MS Dhoni’s participation in the series. Dhoni scored runs in the World Cup but was greeted with brickbats due to the indifferent style of batting in the middle order. But his teammates, including captain Kohli, have backed the veteran. Dhoni had the chance of taking his team to the final, but he couldn’t even after scoring a 50 as Martin Guptill pinned him with a deadly direct-hit.

Meanwhile, reports of a rift in the team are also doing the rounds. On July 15, there is a meeting of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), headed by Vinod Rai, where the issue will be discussed. Reports also mention that a few of the Indian players aren’t happy with head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun. Team India also needs to find its appropriate number four batsman for the future cricketing assignments.