MUMBAI: Indian captain Rohit Sharma and top order batsmen Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul have been rested for the white ball tour of New Zealand next month but the trio will return for the Bangladesh series, Indian selector Chetan Sharma said on Monday.

India will play three Twenty20 matches and three One-day Internationals in New Zealand from Nov 18, with Hardik Pandya to lead the side in the T20s while Shikhar Dhawan is captain for the 50-over games.

The rested batting trio are back in the squad when India tour Bangladesh in December for three ODIs and two test matches. India are currently in Australia for the T20 World Cup.

“Nobody requested to be rested, the selectors have reports on load management to decide which players need rest. We’re in constant touch with the team management and medical team,” Sharma told reporters.

Sharma said India’s injured fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will not be risked in the test series in Bangladesh as they look to have him fully fit before Australia tour India early next year.

Bumrah failed to make the World Cup squad due to a flare-up of a back injury.

“The NCA (National Cricket Academy) medical team is looking after him very well, he’ll definitely be involved against Australia but we’re being cautious when it comes to the Bangladesh tour,” Sharma said.

Squad for New Zealand series:

Twenty20 Internationals: Hardik Pandya (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

One-day Internationals: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.

Squad for Bangladesh series:

One-day Internationals: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Shikhar Dhawan.

Tests: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur,

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2022