The India teams for T20I against New Zealand and Sri Lanka Test series were announced on Monday (October 23). With the amount of cricket Virat Kohli has played, there were talks about India captain being rested for either the T20Is or Test rubber, which did not happen. Kohli will lead the teams in both assignments.
Kohli has played in all matches for India in the last 12 months or so, without taking any break. But, one wonders if the selectors have done the right thing by picking him for the next two series.
India have some tough away tours next year, starting with South Africa in January. One thought that that the selectors would have rested Kohli so as to keep him fresh for the South African trip.
Former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad also felt it would have been better to rest Kohli ahead of the Test series against Proteas.
"With such an important series coming up against South Africa, somebody like Kohli should have been given some rest. Kohli is also a human being, and selectors need to take such tough calls and rest the player, no matter how good he may be, cricketers always need rest," former coach told International Business Times, India.
"It is not only about physical, but also the mental level especially when he is the captain of the national team," he added.
Kohli has been playing non-stop, which includes some rigorous Test series against England, New Zealand and Australia at home, followed by IPL, Champions Trophy and all other bilateral series.
Gaekwad is worried about Indian players, who are playing some tremendous amount of cricket, and feels such continuous matches could take toll on them.
"The amount of cricket which India plays is really scary. Kohli has also spoken (recently) about the tough schedule of the Indian team as well. There is too much cricket, as a result, it will take a toll on the players, and eventually lead to players' injuries, shortening their cricket career too," Gaekwad said.
India are presently playing against New Zealand in the ODI series, which will be followed by the T20I contests and cricket in whites against Sri Lanka.
