Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah likely to miss the entire Sri Lanka tour.
India is set to tour Sri Lanka which will also be Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as the head coach of the team. And reports have suggested that Rohit Sharma is set to captain the team in the ODI series, heeding to Gambhir’s request.
India's tour to Sri Lanka sees them playing 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in July-August. The three T20Is will be played on July 27, 28 and 30 in RPS, Colombo. On the other hand, the three ODIs will be played in Pallekele on August 2, 4 and 7.
While the speculations on who will captain India in Sri Lanka T20Is continue, the Hindustan Times has reported that Rohit Sharma has agreed to play and captain India in the ODI series in Sri Lanka.
Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were set to take a long break after India won the T20 World Cup 2024. However, Gautam Gambhir urged the three senior players to play in the Sri Lanka ODI series as India only has a total of six ODIs before the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
Gambhir also highlighted that they can take a long break after the Sri Lanka series, as India has a six-week pause until they host Bangladesh for two Tests and 3 T20Is in September.
The report stated that Rohit Sharma was urged not to miss these 2 ODIs as it would help Gautam Gambhir to team up with him and put plans in motion for next year’s marquee event.
Gambhir and the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, want stability in the leadership group. Besides, Rohit has already got a month-long break after the T20 World Cup and will get sufficient time to relax after the Sri Lanka ODIs.
However, the two other senior players Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will likely give the Sri Lanka tour a miss. They are most likely to return to action in the Test series against Bangladesh.
(Hindustan Times inputs)