Team selection on Feb 15: Rohit may be rested for T20Is

 New Delhi : The national selection committee is unlikely to make any experiment when they pick the squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia on February 15 in Mumbai.

The five-match ODI series will start in Hyderabad on March 2 followed by matches in Nagpur (March 5), Ranchi (March 8), Mohali (March 10) and Delhi (March 13).  The team for the two T20 International matches to be played in Visakhapatnam (February 24) and Bengaluru (February 27) will also be announced on the same day. 

It has been learnt that the team management as well as the selection committee are on the same page and the squad that will play against Australia is likely to be a mirror-image of the one that will be travelling to UK for the World Cup starting on May 30.  

There is a possibility that selectors may pick 16 members for the ODIs instead of 15 in order to check all the players in contention for the World Cup. 

“There is a possibility that Rohit Sharma may be rested for the two T20 Internationals as Virat Kohli will be back. But when it comes to selecting the ODI squad, there won’t be any experiments with only five matches to go,” a senior BCCI official privy to selection process told PTI on Tuesday. 

Asked about the much talked about workload management programme, the official said: “Most of our ODI boys will be getting good two and half weeks of rest. Well, the pacers can be rotated during the five matches but no one will be kept out of the squad and rested. Workload management will be required more during the IPL. 

“As of now, there are only two spots that are up for grabs. The battle is for second wicket-keeper between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant along with third opener’s slot. The team management at least won’t experiment during the first three games,” he informed. 

There is a school of thought that Shikhar Dhawan may be rested for the final two ODIs and just check if KL Rahul has found his form back in order to keep him ready for the mega event. 

“However, it won’t be a case of any surprise selection as of now. It will just be a case of who plays on the day. Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar and Shami are all fit and available. Along with Khaleel, these four will be rotated to check the combination, more than the workload management,” the official said.