New Delhi: After registered a comprehensive win in the two-Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean Islands — the start of India’s journey in the World Test Championship — Virat Kohli and boys have been enjoying a short break. And the Men in Blue will assemble in the Capital September 12 before heading to Dharamsala for the start of the T20I series against South Africa.
A senior board functionary said that the boys would be assembling in the city Thursday before heading to the picturesque location for the first game of the three-match T20I series against the Proteas.
“The well-earned break ends on Wednesday and the boys will assemble in the Capital Thursday before heading to Dharamsala the next day. Batting coach Vikram Rathour also joins in as he is the only new candidate – replacing Sanjay Bangar — in the coaching unit as the rest were re-appointed,” the functionary said.
Kohli and boys play Quinton de Kock’s men in the opening game of the series Sunday before moving to Mohali for the second T20I that will be played September 18. The final T20I is to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru September 22.
The Proteas have already arrived in the country and after the disappointment of the World Cup, they are looking to start afresh with de Kock named skipper for the T20I series in place of Faf du Plessis.
Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has already made his excitement known on Twitter as he wrote: “Excited to be back in India and looking forward to playing cricket again.”
The Indians have rested the senior pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar while all-rounder Hardik Pandya is back after being rested for the West Indies series. The team management as well as the senior selection committee has been very cautious in managing the workload of the players.
The T20I series will be followed by three matches in the World Test Championships. The first Test is in Visakhapatnam (Oct. 2-6), the second one in Pune (Oct. 10-14) and the third one in Ranchi (Oct 19-23).
IANS