Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach, explained that the exclusion of star Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma from the upcoming Twenty20 series against New Zealand was solely done to give them a break. Due to the duo’s absence from two consecutive series, there were rumours that regular T20 captain Hardik Pandya would replace them. Pandya, who earlier this month led the team to a 2-1 T20 series victory over Sri Lanka, has been named captain for the New Zealand matches, beginning with Friday’s first game.
Dravid stated that India would prioritise the 50-over format heading into this year’s Cricket World Cup in his remarks prior to the final one-day international against New Zealand on Tuesday. “There are certain priorities we need to give to certain white-ball tournaments,” said Dravid, whose team already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series, told reporters in Indore.
India host Australia for four Tests starting February 9, followed by three ODI matches. “So the priority after last year’s T20 World Cup has been these six games and Virat has played all these six games and he will get a bit of a break along with Rohit,” Dravid said, referring to the ODIs against Sri Lanka and New Zeland. Dravid was pressed further on India’s plans for a split captaincy in different formats. “That’s a question you need to ask the selectors but as of now, I don’t think so,” the 50-year-old said.