cricket

Updated: Feb 12, 2019 09:46 IST

After the successful series against Australia and New Zealand, the Indian selectors are now looking at testing out few more players leading up to the World Cup. In order to test the bench strength, the upcoming home series against Australia could see few changes made to the side.

According to a report in the Hindu, the selectors are now looking to strike a balance of resting senior batsmen, rotating pacers and trying out the back-up options for the World Cup. This could mean a recall for Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul as Rohit Sharma could be rested for a few games.

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The selection panel is expected to speak with the Indian management and give more game time to Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. It will also be interesting to see if Virat Kohli plays the entire series or gives other players a go.

The first-choice bowling attack in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammed Shami could also be given a break for a few matches in order to keep them fresh for the World Cup. Also, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav could be in for a break at some point in the series.

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Workload management will be a big focus point for the selectors and the Indian management and head coach Ravi Shastri has already made it clear that players will be monitored even during the IPL.

“We’ve been in touch with the BCCI and CoA in this regard. We have certain plans in place and we’ll be looking to follow them. Usually, the two months of IPL are seen as relatively free months for me and I can just sit down and enjoy the cricket, watch out for new, young talents that keep emerging. But this IPL will be about monitoring the players, keeping the World Cup in mind,” he told Cricbuzz in an interview.