Opener Rohit Sharma was on Tuesday rested for India A’s first Test against New Zealand despite being named in the original squad. He will now travel with India’s T20 squad for the limited-overs series in Australia on Friday.
“Rohit Sharma has been advised rest by the BCCI Medical Team in consultation with the team management and the All-India Senior Selection Committee. The decision was taken keeping in mind his recent workload,” the BCCI was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times in a statement.
Watch: Five most-heated on-field exchanges between Indian and Australians
Rohit, who led India into a record seventh Asia Cup title last month, bounced his way back into the Indian Test side on the back of a stellar limited overs performance. He was initially picked for the four-day game in New Zealand along with Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel and young Prithvi Shaw, all of whom are part of the India squad for the four-Test series down under.
But unlike the aforementioned names, Rohit was a part of India’s 5-math ODI and 3 T20s series against the West Indies. He also in the absence of Virat Kohli, who was rested for his heavy workload, led India at the Asia Cup.
Former Indian cricketer and current India A coach Rahul Dravid mentioned that the three unofficial Tests in New Zealand will prepare the senior players well for the important Australia tour. The first of the three unofficial Test begins in Mount Maunganui from Friday.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has not named any replacement for Rohit and the playing XI will be picked from the 14-member squad. The senior players in the team will only play the first game and hence a separate squad has been named for the second and third four-day matches.
India A squad for the opening four-day game against New Zealand A:
Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rajneesh Gurbani, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper)
Image Source: Times Now