Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah might remain out of action for some time as they are likely to miss India's upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka in August 2024.
Rohit and Virat have retired from T20Is alongside Ravindra Jadeja after India's T20 World Cup 2024 win late last month in the USA and West Indies. The two players alongside Bumrah would be an automatic pick in ODIs and Tests. But as reported by PTI, both Virat and Rohit would be prioritizing Tests for the next few months and are likely to miss the ODIs vs Sri Lanka.
The reason behind it is the gruelling last three months for them as they have been playing since the start of IPL in March. Notably, Rohit has been in action for six months in a row since the India vs South Africa Test series in December 2023. He played in the T20Is against Afghanistan, followed by the Tests against England before the IPL and the World Cup rolled in.
"Both are automatic choices in the ODI set up and the three 50-over games against England before the Champions Trophy is good enough practice for them. For the next few months, they both will prioritize Tests and India will play 10 of them between September to January," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
India are scheduled to play six ODIs till February 2025 before the Champions Trophy. England will tour to India for a five-match T20I and a three-match Test series in January and February next year.
The focus shifts to the Tests with the World Test Championship final lined up in 2025 if India reach there. The Men in Blue will be playing in two Tests vs Bangladesh, and three against New Zealand before going to Australia for a five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy.
"The Champions Trophy will happen in mid-February and they don't need to go for a week-long 3-match ODIs in Sri Lanka. If they want, they are most welcome but I guess they would want rest," the source added.
In Rohit's absence, the team would have some options for captaincy with Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul being the frontrunners.
