Kohli, Rohit, other seniors likely to be rested

India are planning to field a second string side against Afghanistan at home due to a busy calendar in the ODI World Cup year.

Considering the upcoming series against West Indies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are likely to rest senior players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and others for the proposed white-ball Afghanistan series.

Earlier it was reported that BCCI was planning to cancel the Afghanistan series due to a cramped calendar.

All Indian players were involved in a gruelling IPLfor nearly two months and will be in England for a one-off WTC final but after that, most seniors like Kohli and Rohit will need rest before they embark on West Indies tour where all three formats will be played. Kohli and Rohit are certain two play Tests and ODIs and would need adequate rest.

With the ongoing IPL 2023 season, followed by the World Test Championship (WTC) final, many senior players such as Kohli, Rohit and others would be rested before they leave for the Caribbean.

Hardik Pandya could be handed the captaincy duties yet again with the only window for the Afghanistan series between June 20-30.

With the president of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Mirwais Ashraf having arrived in India to attend the IPL 2023 final on BCCI’s invitation along with an ACC meeting for the Asia Cup 2023, the two boards could also finalise details about the proposed series.

The Men in Blue have a jam-packed schedule after the completion of IPL, with the World Test Championship final to be played at the Oval from June 7-11, while the Indian team will travel to the Caribbean to play two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies from July 12 to August 13.

With key players such as Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer having already missed a major chunk of the ongoing calendar year, and the upcoming series against Ireland, Asia Cup 2023 in September leading up to the World Cup itself, the workload of Indian players will only be increasing.