Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, the pair who scored half-centuries in the second T20I versus West Indies on Friday, won’t be playing in the third T20I, scheduled to take place on Sunday in Kolkata.
Both the cricketers have been given a break by the team management from the bio-bubble and hence have been released from the squad for the third T20I. ESPNcricinfo has reported that both of them have already left the Indian camp in Kolkata early on Saturday.
Kohli and Pant, India’s all-format players, have also been rested from the 3-T20I series against Sri Lanka at home as well. The pair will return for the following 2-Test series against the Lankans.
In the second T20I, Kohli scored a fluent 52 off 41 balls while Pant smashed 52 off 28 balls to take India to a match-winning total of 186.
With the series already wrapped up 2-0 by India, the management felt that Kohli and Pant could be given a deserved rest. The pair have hardly had any longer break since the game resumed in the pandemic era.
Shreyas Iyer, who was benched for the first two T20Is, is likely to take Kohli’s place in the eleven, while Ishan Kishan will don the gloves. Ruturaj Gaikwad is another batter who would be hoping to get an opportunity in the third T20I and the Sri Lanka series.
This break to Virat Kohli means that he will return for the first Test against Sri Lanka to take place in Mohali – that will be his 100th hundred, and fans are excited about it. He had earlier missed the Johannesburg Test in South Africa due to back spasms.
Amidst all the talk around an extended bubble break, #ViratKohli has already left Kolkata and won’t be available for Sunday’s game. Intriguing to see where he decides to play his 100th Test.
— Srinjoy Sanyal (@srinjoysanyal07) February 19, 2022
Virat Kohli likely to play his 100th Test in Mohali and 101st in Bengaluru which might also be a day night Test match against Sri Lanka.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 2, 2022
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been rested for the T20i series against Sri Lanka. Shardul Thakur rested for both Test and T20i series against Sri Lanka: Chetan Sharma, Chairman of BCCI’s Senior Selection Committee pic.twitter.com/joflnulnqP
— JK CHANNEL (@jkchanneltv) February 19, 2022
Indian team for T20I series vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Md Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan
