India to play near full-strength squad in five T20Is against West Indies; Virat Kohli might be rested: Report

Virat Kohli might be rested from the T20I series in the Caribbean, says a report by Cricbuzz on Thursday. On Wednesday, Sharma, Bumrah, Pant, Pandya and Kohli were rested from India's three-match ODI series against the West Indies, to be played in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on July 22, 24 and 27. After this, India and West Indies will play five T20Is, starting from July 29 in Trinidad, followed by the next two matches at St.

Kitts and the final two T20Is to be played in Lauderhill, Florida, USA. "The India Twenty20 squad for the upcoming matches in the Caribbean will be in full force as all the senior players of the white-ball team with the possible exception of Virat Kohli, are expected to feature in the five-game series. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya will be included in the squad expected to be announced after the third and final T20I against England on July 10," said the report.

Talking about the possibility of Kohli's absence from the five-match T20I series, the report said, "The absence of Kohli cannot be construed as not being in the scheme of things as he is very much part of the decision makers' plans for the World Cup. He is believed to have requested the selectors, team management and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to not consider him for the West Indies series. It will be a case of rest rather than an axe." The report went on to say that ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin might get a surprise recall for the T20I series against the West Indies.