Shikhar Dhawan, ace India opener, has backed the first-choice Team India players being given rest from international cricket to keep them fresh, saying that playing so much cricket is not only taxing physically but also mentally.
Names such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah have been given appropriate rest this year from numerous international assignments to manage their workload, which has come under some criticism, despite getting support as well.
Speaking to India Today, Shikhar Dhawan pointed out that rotating players in international cricket Is a must to keep them fit mentally and physically.
"A player has to get fresh to give peak performance. If a player plays back-to-back, he will get mentally tired. It is important to give rest mentally. If you see there is rotation in international cricket so that players get rest. If a player travels everywhere, he will get tired. At the end of the day, a cricketer is a human. I feel people at top level understand and accordingly plan to keep a nice balance," Dhawan told indiatoday.in on the sidelines of the launch of his Da One Sports.
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Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma missed the home T20I series against South Africa just after the conclusion of IPL 2022. After playing in the England series, Kohli has now been rested from the tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was rested from the ODI leg of the tour to West Indies, where Shikhar Dhawan captained the Indian side to a 3-0 series win. However, Rohit is back captaining the side in T20Is where India leads by 2-1 with two matches to go.
Shikhar Dhawan, who is no longer in contention for T20Is, will once again don the captain's hat for the 50-over series against Zimbabwe.
Dhawan was also asked about the Indian team dropping someone like Deepak Hooda from the playing XI in the T20I series against England, despite the batter coming off a brilliant century in a T20I against Ireland.
However, Dhawan said it was not a big thing to drop Hooda as the "senior player has done well for 10 years".
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"He (Deepak Hooda) sat because a senior player had to play. Deepak is doing well but if there is a senior player, he has to wait because the senior player has done so well for 10 years. It is not a big thing. Be it Deepak or someone else, it's quite normal. If the communication is good, then there is no problem. I'm sure they must have got reasoning. There is a process, every captain and coach has a different process. So, whatever their process is they will go accordingly. I'm sure they are creating a healthy environment out there," Dhawan said.
When asked if ODI cricket is dying a slow death and has become just a longer version of T20Is, Dhawan said: "We played in England recently, and the stadium was full. Everyone came and enjoyed. I really enjoy playing ODI, it's a very beautiful format and I love it. Of course, T20I is quite hot, and it is for 4 hours but that is different. Every format has its uniqueness."
