Reins for New Zealand tour handed to Hardik Pandya; Virat Kohli rested

PTI

Adelaide, October 31

All-rounder Hardik Pandya was today named India’s captain for the upcoming three-match T20I series in New Zealand, while opener KL Rahul and wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik were rested as part of the “workload management of players”.

Regular skipper Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have also been rested for the New Zealand tour. Shikhar Dhawan will lead the side in the three-match ODI series.

The T20I series will begin four days after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup on November 18 in Wellington. The second match will be played on November 20 in Mount Maunganui, while the series will conclude on November 22 in Napier.

The ODI series will begin on November 25 (Auckland), followed by matches on November 27 (Hamilton) and November 30 (Christchurch).

BCCI selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma also announced squads for the Bangladesh tour. It will consist of three ODIs and two Tests and the side will be led by Rohit, while Kohli and Ashwin will also feature. Ravindra Jadeja, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering a knee injury during the Asia Cup, will also make a comeback.

This is the first time that BCCI has announced four squads at the same time.

“Nobody asked for rest. All the decisions are part of workload management of players. We have reports from the medical team on who to give rest when and how to manage them,” Chetan said. Asked about Karthik’s future after his below-par show in the first three matches of the T20 World Cup, Chetan insisted that it’s not all over for the Tamil Nadu batter. “He (Karthik) has been performing and he is available to us. But this time we just thought of trying a different set of players after the World Cup,” the chief selector said.

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