5 players who should be rested during the West Indies tour

The Indian cricket team has been bossing its way around in World Cricket, in the recent days. The team has displayed absolute dominance and has given several top-class teams, a run for their money. Currently, the Men In Blue are representing the nation in the Cricket World Cup 2019. The star-studded line-up of the Indian team has walked into the tournament with the tag of hot favourites and has, hitherto played, as per the expectations.

Once the mega-event ends, the Virat Kohli-led team will be touring to the Carribean islands, where they’ll lock horns with the West Indies in their own backyard. The series will begin on 3rd August and will last till 3rd September, consisting of three T20Is, three ODIs and two tests respectively.

However, the cadre which will fly to West Indies later this year is likely to be full of young Indian talents, with the veterans being rested. In the last few months, the senior Indian players have gone through an extremely hectic schedule. In the year 2019, the Indian team first toured to Australia and New Zealand, then took on the former at home, then took part in the Indian Premier League and are now playing the Cricket World Cup.

Hence, the doyens who have consistently been part of all these campaigns are likely to be rested for the upcoming series against the Men In Maroon as this will also give a much-needed opportunity to several young cricketers present in the country.

So here, we’ll have a look at those 5 Indian cricketers, who should perhaps be rested when the Indian team flies to the land of firing bullets.

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is one of the busiest cricketers of the world. Apart from the ad shoots and the off-field campaigns he does, there’s no denying to the fact that the lad also plays innumerable no. of cricket matches in a year. At the moment, the 30-year old is leading the Indian Cricket Team in the Cricket World Cup 2019. He has been going through an extremely hectic schedule in the recent times as after touring Australia and New Zealand during the initial months of 2019, the Delhi Cricketer led the Royal Challengers Bangalore throughout the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.

And now that Virat is representing India in the World Cup, it is quite clear that the ace batsman, in all likelihood, will take a bit of rest once the tournament ends. The Indian skipper is very unlikely to be a part of the Indian squad which will tour to West Indies in the latter half of July, as what follows this, is a much more important home-series against South Africa.

2. Rohit Sharma

Handling the role of a deputy of the Indian cricket team is not an easy job either and the Indian opener Rohit Sharma has been doing it since a long period of time. The Mumbai-born is currently the vice-captain of the Indian team in white ball cricket and leads the cadre, in the absence of Virat Kohli. Even in league cricket, the 31-year old is a part of the Mumbai Indians and has been shouldering the mantle since 2013. Ever since he was granted the responsibilities to start the proceedings whilst batting, Rohit has become an integral part of the Indian squad.

The right-handed batsman’s workload hasn’t been reduced in this year either as he has played a total of 20 limited-overs International games until now. Amidst all this workload, he also led the Mumbai Indians, to their 4th IPL triumph. And at present, Sharma is playing the Cricket World Cup 2019 and his role has become even more important.

After such a tiring season, the Maharashtra Cricketer’s rest during the upcoming Carribean tour is distinctly possible. The chances of this happening look even more possible after realising the fact that Rohit has already proved himself as a batsman on diverse conditions while multiple young openers, from the Indian domestic circuit, are in queue to get a chance of representing India in blues on the highest stage.

3. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the best speedster amongst the current lot. This extremely talented pace assassin from India has been ruling the world of cricket from the past 2 years. However, the doohickeys which have followed this glorious career as black patches are the injuries at regular intervals. The premium fast-bowler had recently suffered a shoulder injury during the Indian Premier League 2019. Before the starting of India’s tour of England last year, Bumrah had suffered another injury and was replaced by Shardul Thakur.

Now, due to such regular abrasions, managing the workload of the ace-speedster has become a big cause of concern for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Gujarat-born cricketer, who is currently playing the World Cup, has been playing international cricket without any break from the past 3 months. Hence, it is quite obvious that Bumrah will be given time to luxuriate during the Windies tour as bigger challenges like the home-series against South Africa & Australia in the latter half of this year and early stages of next year respectively wait for him.

4. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been touching the skies of success in recent times. Ever since the time he was selected after the Koffee-With-Karan fiasco, the lad has played like an absolute beast and has cemented his place in the international team of Indian cricket. The Baroda cricketer was also one of the main factors behind Mumbai Indians’ successful campaign in IPL 12. Being the second most valuable player of the tourney, the all-rounder struck a total of 14 wickets and scored 400+ runs.

Howbeit, amidst this chaotic season, one thing which has gone unnoticed is Pandya’s heavy workload. The Gujarat-born has played non-stop cricket in the last few months. Although the upcoming months might bring a bit of a break for the 25-year old as with several other talented all-rounders like Vijay Shankar and Shivam Dubey going around in the Indian circuit. Hardik Pandya will probably be rested when India takes on the West Indian squad later this year.

5. Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has become a batting stalwart of the Indian cricket team. The lad has emerged as one of the best openers of the modern-era. Not only in international cricket, but the Delhi cricketer’s performance has been phenomenal in the Indian Premier League as well. In the recently-concluded season, Shikhar went on to score 500+ runs and played a major role behind the Delhi Capitals’ campaign to the playoffs of the tournament.

However, an injury cause, amid the World Cup, has become a cause of concern in this dream run. The 33-year old suffered a thumb injury while practising for the 3rd game of India and was ruled out for 2 weeks. Nonetheless, the veteran cricketer has still not left the team and is likely to make a comeback in the latter half of the tournament.

Shikhar Dhawan’s scintillating records in ICC tournaments aren’t hidden from anyone and there’s is no denying to the fact that the lad is going to be the backbone of the Indian batting line-up during the Knockout Stages. Howbeit, coming back from an injury and playing innumerable matches in a row isn’t an easy task and hence, the dashing opener, undoubtedly, deserves rest during the upcoming Windies tour.