Kohli, Bumrah to be rested for Windies T20s, ODIs

India captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will  be rested for the limited-overs' series against the West Indies, scheduled in the United States and Caribbeans, from August 3.

They will, however, be back for the two-Test series, which is a part of the inaugural World Test Championship.

"Virat and Jasprit will certainly be rested for the three-match T20Is and three-match ODI series. Virat has been playing since start of the Australia series and Bumrah's workload management is also paramount. They will join the team before the Test series," a senior BCCI official said.

There could be a few others too who will be rested for the series.

If India make it to the final of the ongoing World Cup, then the key players will be playing till July 14 and it would be necessary to give the premier batsmen and some fast bowlers adequate rest.

In fact, the BCCI, in consultation with Cricket West Indies, has chalked the itinerary in such a way that Test matches, which were earlier scheduled at the start of the series, will now be held after the T20s and ODIs.

"With first Test in Antigua starting August 22, there will be enough time for the key members in the World Cup squad to get much-needed rest," he said.

It is expected that Kohli and Bumrah will join the squad before the three-day practice game in Antigua from August 17-19.

Since Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari will play ‘A’ games in the West Indies, by the time the seniors arrive, the warm-up game could be used judiciously, is what the selection committee feels.

The West Indies series will also mark a shift in focus for the outgoing selection panel, which will start the process of T20 team selection keeping in mind next year's World T20 in Australia.

Few players, like Krunal Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Chahar, Sanju Samson, will be tried out for T20s.

The first two games of the three-match T20 series will be played at Fort Lauderhill, in Florida, on August 3 and 4.