Days after complaining of a cramped schedule, India skipper Virat Kohli has been given rest and will not play the upcoming three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma will lead the side in his absence, the all-India selection committee announced on Monday.
Punjab all-rounder Siddharth Kaul has been handed his first India call-up and will be part of the ODI squad. Kaul, incidentally, was a member of the 2008 U-19 World Cup winning team, which was led by Kohli. Kaul has played for India A and has 175 wickets from 50 first-class games and 98 scalps from 52 List A (domestic 50- overs) games. The medium pacer has also been a part of IPL franchises Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Meanwhile, Ashwin and Jadeja’s continued exclusion is a clear indication that they are not in the immediate scheme of things in this format. Shreyas Iyer, who made his T20 international debut against New Zealand last month, has earned his first call-up in the ODI side and is expected to bat in Kohli’s place at number three.
The squad for the T20 Internationals against the islanders and the Test tour of South Africa has been put off till the third and final match in the national capital.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who had requested to be released for the second Test against Sri Lanka because of personal reasons, returns to the squad for the third match that will commence in Delhi from Saturday.
India squad for the third Test: Virat Kohli (Captain), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-Captain), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for the ODI series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
With inputs from PTI