Senior players to be rested for the T20 series against South Africa; Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya in contention for captaincy: Reports

Recent reports suggest that Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant would be rested for the forthcoming five-match T20 series against South Africa. The sectors want the senior players to be fit for the important tour to England in July.

Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya, who has impressed everyone with his captaincy for Gujarat in the Indian T20 League 2022, are believed to be contenders for the leadership roles for both South Africa and the short two-match T20I series against Ireland.

The five T20 matches, starting 9th June, are scheduled to be played in Delhi, Cuttack, Vishakapatnam, Rajkot, and Bangalore. The squad for the South Africa series is expected to be selected on May 22.

"All the senior India players will get at least three and half weeks of complete rest. Rohit, Virat, KL, Rishabh and Jasprit will all directly go to England for the ‘fifth Test’ following the white-ball series. We need all our key players to remain fresh for the England series," a senior BCCI was quoted saying by News 18.

Speaking of the captaincy the source said: "The selectors have a couple of choices. Shikhar Dhawan, as he has already captained India in absence of Virat, Rohit and Rahul during last year’s Sri Lanka series. But Hardik Pandya’s impressive captaincy for Gujarat Titans hasn’t gone unnoticed. So it will be a close call."

According to the source, Mohsin Khan has an advantage in the selection process, while Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh are also in the running. "Our pace bowling department is set and selectors might not experiment too much. But yes, Mohsin has impressed almost everyone with his pace, bounce and swing in this edition. He does have a chance. Having said that, not ruling out Umran or Arshdeep either, but Mohsin might just be slightly ahead," the source added.