Virat Kohli likely to be rested for South Africa series, squad announcement on May 29 – Reports

According to the reports, BCCI will announce the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa on May 29, the final day of the Indian T20 League 2022. For the T20I series, former India skipper Virat Kohli could be rested and a few youngsters could get a chance. Players such as Abhishek Sharma, Umran Malik, and Prithvi Shaw could make it to the team.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya could also make his comeback. The matches will be played on June 9, 12, 14, 17, and 19 across five venues in Delhi, Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot, and Bangalore respectively. Notably, Kohli could also be rested for the two-match T20I series against Ireland, to be played on the 26 and 28th of the same month.

Meanwhile, former selectors MSK Prasad and Devang Gandhi, and former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta discussed the possible changes in the Indian team if some of the seniors are rested.  The were of the opinion that Indian team should bring in players who can perform at the big stage of the World Cup. Meanwhile MSK Prasad also wanted Virat Kohli to take a short break from cricket.

“These three are indispensable if fit. There is no way that you can leave any one of them for the World T20. But yes, if I look at numbers, I might just try someone like Shikhar Dhawan at the opening and check Rahul at 4. He has a T20 hundred in Manchester some years back in middle-order, so why not. But yes, I want Virat to take a significant break and before the Asia Cup, he should be fresh, up and running,” Prasad said as quoted by Sports Tiger.

“These are your proven performers and when they play for India, it is completely different from the roles they have for their franchises. Also when we talk about changes, we should know who are the replacements? Are they good enough and better than those three in pressure scenario during a Pakistan game? You need to factor in,” Gandhi said.

On the other hand, Dasgupta said that the players are selected in a T20I team for specified roles thus the team cannot select any random player as they will need to see if the play is fit for a specific role. “In Tests or ODIs, we normally find players, check them out and accordingly assign roles to them. In T20, you need to do the reverse. You first decide roles and then fit in players. “They can still play the trio as number 1, 2 and 3 but there has to be specific role which they should be told long before the tournament,” Dasgupta said.