The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) brushed aside all speculations and confirmed India's tour of Zimbabwe on Saturday. According to reports, the BCCI selectors might just go with a secondary team and this would mean that the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin might be rested for this tour.
Earlier the board had cited the reason of fatigue and they might just say the same thing after resting these senior players. India went to Bangladesh recently with a full strength squad but they suffered a shocking defeat in the ODI series.
Looking into these facts, the selectors might carve the path for some youngsters for this upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. Rohit Sharma is likely to lead this young Indian brigade. He had led Mumbai Indians to the Indian Premier League title this year and that might just give him the edge over Suresh Raina, who is also being considered as one of the options to lead Team India during this tour.
"Ashwin and Kohli are playing both formats. Dhoni has also had a lot of workload since the Australia tour followed by the World Cup and a gruelling IPL. These three require rest. A fresh Kohli and Ashwin are a must for Sri Lanka Tests which will be a very tough assignment," a source close to BCCI told PTI.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh might be recalled for this tour if Ashwin is rested. Parvez Rasool too can fill up the spinner's spot. Ajinkya Rahane will look to give solid strength to the Indian middle-order. Rahane played only one match during the ODI series against Bangladesh, which India lost 1-2.
After a good domestic season with the bat, Robin Uthappa might just sneak in to this Indian squad after a long. Stuart Binny, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma are some other probables for this tour. If Dhoni is not picked, then the gloves are likely to be donned by Wriddhiman Saha. Umesh Yadav might also be rested after a poor Bangladesh tour.
India are scheduled to play three ODIs and two T20 matches in Zimbabwe starting 10 July.
