India’s omission of star Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma from an
upcoming Twenty20 series against New Zealand is only intended to give them
a rest, coach Rahul Dravid said Monday. The duo’s absence from two
successive series had stoked rumours that Hardik Pandya would take over as
regular T20 captain Pandya led the team to a 2-1 T20 series win over Sri
Lanka earlier this month and has been named captain for the New Zealand
matches, starting with Friday’s opener. Speaking ahead of the final one-day
international against New Zealand on Tuesday, Dravid said India would
prioritise the 50-over format going into this year’s Cricket World
Cup.”There are certain priorities we need to give to certain white-ball
tournaments,” said Dravid, whose team already have an unassailable 2-0 lead
in the ODI series, told reporters in Indore.India host Australia for four Tests starting February 9, followed by three
ODI matches. “So the priority after last year’s T20 World Cup has been
these six games and Virat has played all these six games and he will get a
bit of a break along with Rohit,” Dravid said, referring to the ODIs
against Sri Lanka and New Zeland.Dravid was pressed further on India’s
plans for a split captaincy in different formats. “That’s a question you
need to ask the selectors but as of now, I don’t think so,” the 50-year-old
said.
upcoming Twenty20 series against New Zealand is only intended to give them
a rest, coach Rahul Dravid said Monday. The duo’s absence from two
successive series had stoked rumours that Hardik Pandya would take over as
regular T20 captain Pandya led the team to a 2-1 T20 series win over Sri
Lanka earlier this month and has been named captain for the New Zealand
matches, starting with Friday’s opener. Speaking ahead of the final one-day
international against New Zealand on Tuesday, Dravid said India would
prioritise the 50-over format going into this year’s Cricket World
Cup.”There are certain priorities we need to give to certain white-ball
tournaments,” said Dravid, whose team already have an unassailable 2-0 lead
in the ODI series, told reporters in Indore.India host Australia for four Tests starting February 9, followed by three
ODI matches. “So the priority after last year’s T20 World Cup has been
these six games and Virat has played all these six games and he will get a
bit of a break along with Rohit,” Dravid said, referring to the ODIs
against Sri Lanka and New Zeland.Dravid was pressed further on India’s
plans for a split captaincy in different formats. “That’s a question you
need to ask the selectors but as of now, I don’t think so,” the 50-year-old
said.
