Virat Kohli, most other seniors ready to travel for West Indies tour
Mumbai: Unlike what was reported earlier, most of Team India's senior players have indicated their availability for the upcoming West Indies tour, which will commence early next month.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are among the senior players who are ready and willing to play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests against the Caribbean side.
Kohli, who got a small break between the IPL and the World Cup because of RCB's early exit from the tournament is not inclined to take any rest after the World Cup. Rohit Sharma is also keen to continue his scintillating batting form after emerging as the leading scorer of the tournament.
The exceptions are-- Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who would not be available during the tour. MS Dhoni is learnt to be headed to his army unit for the next two month. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has been enduring back trouble and Jasprit Bumrah has been advised a bit of rest.
Some media reports had speculated that Kohli and Bumrah would be rested even for the Tests against West Indies. However, this seems unlikely to be the case when the national selectors meet on Friday.
Bumrah, who was an integral part of the Mumbai Indians' victorious IPL campaign bowled in all ten matches of India in ICC World Cup 2019. The 25-year-old may want to rest for the white-ball series in the Caribbean but has no intention of missing the Tests, according to sources.
Pandya, who suffered back trouble during the entire Mumbai Indians campaign has been in pain since some time. He will probably be given a break for the whole series.
As reported by Times of India, all other players of Team India are fit and are expected to make themselves available for the series.
“There’s no word yet on Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar (who had to leave the World Cup midway due to injuries). The chief selector may have an idea because he’s been following this up. Let’s see, we’ll have a better idea tomorrow on how they’re recovering,” sources in the know said.
Dhawan fractured his left thumb during the league match against Australia. He got hit between the index finger and thumb during India's match World Cup match against Australia. Shankar, on the other hand, injured his left toe while facing a yorker from Jasprit Bumrah in the nets.
Sources also revealed that the team management is displeased at rumours that have been floating around, mentioning a rift within the squad.
“Absolute nonsense is being pedalled, like 'there’s a rift in the team, there’s trouble brewing', what not. It’s really uncalled for. Which cricketer wishes away another cricketer? Only one who’s never played the game. The World Cup ended and someone wanted a new headline. It’s disappointing how some people twist and turn things to suit their interests,” sources in the know said.
