India will be touring Zimbabwe in June, where they play three ODIs and two T20 internationals. The team for the tour is yet to be picked by the BCCI selectors, but the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are likely to be rested for the tour.
Kohli, Rohit and Dhawan have been playing continuous cricket since the tour of Australia in January and they need to be rested ahead of a grueling season in which India will be playing 17 Test matches.
"It is more or less certain that both Virat and Rohit will be rested for series against Zimbabwe. They have been playing non-stop cricket for the last six months and are required to be fresh before India embarks on their tour to West Indies. The chances of Shikhar Dhawan going for the Zimbabwe tour are also very less," a top BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI.
Kohli, who has not missed a single match since the start of the home series against South Africa in October last year, has been in extraordinary form in this calendar year, and he will want to emulate that in the longest format of the game as well. In order to do so, he will need to rest himself ahead of the first tour of the season, against the West Indies, where India will play four Test matches.
Meanwhile, the availability of the India limited-overs captain MS Dhoni for Zimbabwe tour has not been confirmed. If Dhoni decides to skip the tour, he might not get to play any limited-overs games in 2016 only until BCCI decide to organise a few matches. If Dhoni misses out on this tour, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the charge.
A number of new names will come up during the selection meeting for this tour. India U-19 batsman Rishabh Pant, Mumbai Indians's latest find Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul are likely to be considered for the tour of Zimbabwe. It remains to be seen if Hardik Pandya makes the cut, consdiering his recent form has been below par.
Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja, with the selectors left with the decision of whether to rest R Ashwin or not.
