National selectors are likely to rest a bunch of regular all-format players from the team for the two-Test series against New Zealand at home, keeping bubble fatigue and workload in mind.
India’s Test team for the series is likely to be officially out in a day or two, it is learned. Some premier fast bowlers, specifically Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur, are expected to rest their tired legs.
In addition, Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has been a constant presence in the side across formats of late, is also expected to sit out of the New Zealand series to get a much-needed respite from the bio-bubble life.
National Selectors Are Torn Between Rohit Sharma And Ajinkya Rahane As The Stand-In Test Skipper In Absence Of Virat Kohli Who Won’t Play 1st Test
A combination of a packed schedule and the unwillingness of top players to skip IPL, or even a part of it, have led to this situation which cannot be good for Indian cricket. Therefore, more careful planning is required if India nurses serious World Cup ambitions in future events.
Regular Test captain Virat Kohli, meanwhile, will be missing the first Test in Kanpur. Virat Kohli will assume charge from the second Test in Mumbai onwards before the team leaves for a full tour of South Africa in the second week of December. The national selectors, it is learned, are torn between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane as the stand-in Test captain. Rohit Sharma has been recently appointed as Virat Kohli’s successor in the T20 format.
Ajinkya Rahane’s indifferent form and Rohit Sharma’s growing stature as a leader across formats have got the national selectors and new head coach Rahul Dravid thinking. However, the management firmly believes that Virat Kohli is the undisputed full-time Test captain.
It is understood that the national selectors are keen to persist, with Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Andhra’s KS Bharat will be the second ‘keeper.
According to reports, recently-appointed Indian T20I captain Rohit Sharma is highly likely to become the Test team’s vice-captain. The middle-order duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are also under the scanner owing to their poor performances of late.
Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead India in the first of the two-Test series against New Zealand later this month. After the national selectors decided to give Virat Kohli rest in the first Test in Kanpur, it has been decided on Thursday that Rohit Sharma will also sit out of the entire Test series to manage his workload.
T Dilip Set To Be India’s New Fielding Coach
BCCI has offered a short break from bio-bubble life before the players assemble for the three-T20I series which starts against New Zealand on Nov 17 in Jaipur. The players who have been in UAE for the 2021 T20I World Cup and the ones who were playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament have all been allowed to go home to be with their families. So the players are getting a break of two or three days depending on when they exit the existing bubble.
There will be three-day quarantine. The move also comes with the tour of South Africa in mind. So some players, once in the Jaipur bubble, may have to stay in it for another three months.
BCCI will also announce new head coach Rahul Dravid’s support staff on Thursday. While incumbent batting coach Vikram Rathour and NCA bowling coach Paras Mhambrey are set to get the jobs, T Dilip will be the fielding coach.
T Dilip has been in the NCA system for a while and traveled with the Indian team to Sri Lanka in July. T Dilip’s competition was with Abhay Sharma, who has been a part of the India ‘A’ and U-19 teams.