According to reports, India skipper Virat Kohli opted against taking rest for the team’s upcoming tour of West Indies starting August 3. India are scheduled to play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests against Windies and it was reported that Kohli could give the tour a miss. However, the selectors ended those talks by naming Kohli in all three Indian squads.
It has now been revealed that Kohli himself insisted on going to West Indies as he did not want to stay away from the side at this ‘crucial juncture’. India lost to New Zealand in semis to crash out of the World Cup and will be looking for a change in fortunes in West Indies. For this reason, Kohli wanted to be with the team and reportedly declined the option of skipping the tour.
“There were indeed suggestions that he should rest but he decided that his presence would be required for the side,” an insider was quoted as saying by Bangalore Mirror. “The collective morale of the players is down and he didn’t want to stay away at this crucial juncture.”
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India named a strong contingent for the tour as Shikhar Dhawan returned into the T20I and ODIs squads after suffering an injury during the World Cup. The T20 squad also saw the inclusion of some new faces – Navdeep Saini, Rahul Chahar and Shreyas Iyer – with fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya being rested. The other big exclusion from the T20 squad was all-rounder Kedar Jadhav who did not have a great outing during the recently concluded World Cup.
India’s squad for 2 Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, C Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK) Wriddhiman Saha (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
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