Former skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the third T20I between India and South Africa, which will be played in Indore on Tuesday, after rediscovering top form in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup. The decision was made with Kohli's workload management in mind, as the top brass believes he has to be in top form when India opens their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 23 at the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground.
With India winning the series by eight wickets and 16 runs in the first and second T20Is, respectively, the game at the Holkar Stadium on Tuesday evening becomes a dead rubber. Kohli scored an impressive unbeaten 49 off 28 balls during India's historic triumph against South Africa in Guwahati on Tuesday. While he fell short of a record-extending half-century, batsmen KL Rahul (57) and Suryakumar Yadav (61) smashed important fifties to help India win its first-ever T20I series against South Africa at home.
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With India poised to play its final T20I game before the 2022 World Cup on Tuesday, the Indian think tank has already revealed its intentions for rejigging the Men in Blue's starting XI. According to the latest developments, Kohli, who has played in all of India's matches since the Asia Cup, has been given a rest, with someone else, most likely Shreyas Iyer, taking his place at No. 3 tomorrow.
"He [Kohli] has played back-to-back matches. Will have to be careful about his workload. With the T20 World Cup starting later this month, we want Virat to be fresh mentally and physically. He has featured regularly for India in T20I matches since the Asia Cup and with the series already won, it's better to give him a breather and someone else can be handed a game ahead of him," sources told Hindustan Times.
Rahul, in addition to Kohli, is anticipated to be given a respite. Rahul, who returned from injury in August, has played in all of India's matches, including two ODIs against Zimbabwe, the Asia Cup, and five matches against Australia and South Africa combined. Rahul began poorly but now appears to have found his stride, having hit four half-centuries in six innings, including back-to-back fifty in the two T20Is against the Proteas.
Kohli, who struggled to score runs in the first part of the year, has made a surprising return to form after returning to top-flight cricket after a six-week break.
After struggling in the ODI and T20I series against England in July, Kohli took a break and skipped travels to the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Kohli said that he did not bat for a month while overseas, which was the first time he has done so.
He started with an important 35-ball knock against Pakistan in a thriller that India won by five wickets, and he followed it up with half-centuries against Hong Kong and Pakistan again. Kohli went out for a duck against Sri Lanka, but he ended his nearly three-year wait for a century by smashing 122 not out against Afghanistan.
Kohli's performances in the Asia Cup - where he scored 276 runs from five innings at an average of 91 and strike rate of 147.59 and was the tournament's second-highest run-getter - helped him climb the ICC men's T20 batting rankings. Kohli, who had fallen to 29th in the rankings, has risen 14 spots to 15th in the rankings.
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