Keeping in mind the upcoming busy international schedule, the management of the Indian cricket team is now paying special attention to workload management. According to reports, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya may be rested for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. This decision is upcoming T-20 World Cup It is being taken into consideration, so that both the players remain fully fit and can perform at their best in the big tournament.
Although Bumrah and Pandya may be kept out of the ODI series, they are expected to return in the five-match T20 International series that follows immediately. This clearly indicates that the team management is currently giving more importance to the shorter formats. India wants to strengthen its team combination, role of players and strategy before the T20 World Cup and the series against New Zealand is going to be a good opportunity for this work.
The ODI series is to be played against the Kiwi team before the T20 series and the team for that is likely to be announced around January 4 or 5. There is news of Rishabh Pant not being included in this ODI series. In his absence, the selectors can give a chance to Ishan Kishan or Jitesh Sharma as wicketkeeper. The first match of the series will be held on January 11 in Baroda, the second on January 14 in Rajkot and the third on January 18 in Indore. After this, T-20I series will be played in Nagpur, Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram from 21 to 31 January.
For the last one year, caution has been being taken regarding Hardik Pandya’s fitness and his match selection. Pandya now plays only white-ball cricket and has not played an ODI since the Champions Trophy final in March due to persistent fitness problems. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah has also not been seen in the ODI format since the 2023 World Cup final. Considering his important role in all three formats, the team management does not want to take any risk regarding his workload.
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