New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced squad for India vs Zimbabwe three-match One-Day-International series. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma being rested for the series helped senior opener Shikhar Dhawan retain India’s captaincy for Zimbabwe away tour. India’s star batters KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been rested for the ODI series. KL Rahul took to social media to issue a clarification that him testing Covid-19 positive halted his road to attaining full recovery. However, the mystery over Virat Kohli’s emission from the Indian squad for Zimbabwe ODIs remained unsolved.
It was widely speculated that Virat, who was rested for India’s tour of West Indies, would return to Indian squad for Zimbabwe tour. According to news agency PTI, the former Indian skipper will make his comeback to national team in next month’s Asia Cup.
“Virat had spoken to selectors that he would be available from the Asia Cup onwards. The first team players will hardly get rest from Asia Cup till end of World T20. Hence this is a two-week window after the Windies tour when they can rest,” a source told PTI.
Virat Kohli has not scored a century in any format since November 2019. Since then his form has seen a decline, which continued till July 2022. Now Virat will return to action in the Asia Cup 2022, set to be played in late August in United Aram Emirates (UAE). Virat’s form is a cause of concern for the Indian management ahead of big tournaments — Asia Cup and T20 World Cup 2022.