Virat Kohli reveals the reason behind resting Rohit Sharma for West Indies series

What’s the story?

Indian selectors have decided to rest opener Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against West Indies.

Though the exclusion of Rohit from the team might have come as a surprise to many, skipper Virat Kohli has confirmed that Rohit is yet to recover fully from the injury that kept him out of action for nearly 3 months and the team management wants to protect the right-hander without any further injuries.

After beating Bangladesh in the semi-finals, Kohli was asked about Rohit’s exclusion from the Indian squad and the Indian skipper said, “Rohit has come back and had a full IPL season, which was very hectic. His side reached the final and he got lesser rest than anyone else. Plus, he had a massive hip surgery and the muscles around that area are always vulnerable and today also he some stiffness in his right knee.

“So, we have taken a decision to rest him. He is playing so well and there is no doubt on what he brings to the team. We need to protect him going further because in the latter half of the year, we have massive tours coming up and his batting contribution will be a huge factor for us.

“So, we want him to be careful because, after a massive surgery, you need to be careful. If you push yourself, you might end up missing 7 or 8 more months. It was a conscious decision by everyone in the team to rest him for the series against West Indies.”

In case you didn’t know...

Earlier today, the selectors announced a 15-member Indian team that will tour West Indies right after the completion of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy. Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav, who have been impressing everyone with their heroics in the domestic circuit, have earned their maiden call-ups to the Indian ODI side.

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Dinesh Karthik

Details

Ever since making a return from injury, Rohit Sharma has successfully led his team Mumbai Indians to glory in the 2017 IPL and has already scored a century and two fifties in the four innings he has played in the Champions Trophy so far.

After missing out on centuries against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Rohit scored a match-winning unbeaten 123 that helped the Men in Blue cross the line easily against Bangladesh in the semi-final. With this, he became the second batsman (after his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan) to go past the 400-run mark in the tournament.

Extra cover: World reacts to India's masterclass against Bangladesh

What’s next?

India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy at the Oval on June 18. Five days after the final, Virat Kohli’s men will take on West Indies in the first of the five-match ODI series.

Author’s Take

It is good to see the team management deciding to give Rohit Sharma some much-needed rest keeping in mind his fitness concerns. At the same time, they should be careful about him aggravating his injury in the final.