India vs New Zealand: Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not get a place in the T20 series against New Zealand. Now Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has made a key statement regarding this.
After the ODI series, Team India has to play three T20 matches against New Zealand. Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not included in the T20 series and Hardik Pandya was given the responsibility of captaincy. Ever since India’s semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup last year, questions have been raised about the T20 careers of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. These three have not played a single match in this format after the T20 World Cup.
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid made a big statement that now Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not in the T20 team. Dravid said that breaks have been given to Kohli and Rohit Sharma under workload management. Dravid believes that there are big tournaments like the Test series against Australia and the ODI World Cup this year, and in such situations, the workload of the players is inevitable. Under BCCI’s new policy, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will monitor the players’ workload in this year’s IPL.
Ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand, Dravid said, ‘Workload management has become an important part of today’s game. We will continue to review these matters. We have given a break to the players (Rohit, Virat, KL Rahul) for the T20 series to manage the workload. Injury management and workload management are two different things. Looking at the amount of cricket we play, there has to be a balance between the two as to what is our priority in the near future. Also, we have to make sure that our key players are available for big tournaments” he said.
Seniors to participate in IPL: Dravid
Dravid said that the players involved in the ODI World Cup plans will play in the IPL, which will help gauge their T20 skills. Dravid said, ‘The NCA and our medical team are in constant touch with the franchise regarding the IPL. If there is any problem or injury, we attend to it. If a player is injured or has any other concern, I think BCCI has the right to drop him. But if he is fit, if it is an important tournament, we will release him for the IPL,” he said.
Rahul Dravid feels that this break is necessary before the all-important four-match Test series against Australia starting next month with a two-week camp ahead. Dravid said, ‘Some white ball tournaments should be played in due time. “It is very important to play four matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for WTC qualification,” he said.
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