Kohli makes himself available for full WI tour

MUMBAI: India captain Virat Kohli is set to travel to West Indies for the full tour, which includes two Tests as well as six limited-over fixtures.

Contrary to earlier reports, it is now confirmed Kohli will travel to the Caribbean for the entire duration of the tour. The Indian skipper was acutely disappointed with India’s semi-final defeat in the just-ended ICC World Cup and it is understood he wants to start the process of turning things around for the team from the tour of the West Indies.

Therefore, Kohli has informed the selectors he will travel to West Indies for the shorter formats matches as well as the Test matches.

Last month, it was reported Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah would be rested for the Twenty20 International and One-day International series.

Kohli has been playing non-stop since India’s tour of Australia. He was rested for the final two One-day Internationals and the T20 International series in New Zealand before he returned to lead the side for the home ODI series against Australia.

After that, Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and India in World Cup 2019.

India were one of the pre-tournament favourites and stormed to the last-four stage as table toppers. However, they lost the semi-final to New Zealand at Old Trafford in Manchester.

After the Word Cup heartbreak, India will shift focus to the tour of the West Indies which starts with two T20 Internationals in Florida on Aug 3 and 4.

The third T20 will be played in Providence on Aug 6. The same venue will host the first of three One-day Internationals on Aug 8 before the remaining two one-dayers will be played in Port of Spain on Aug 11 and 14.

The two Tests will be played at North Sound in Antigua from Aug 22 to 26 and at Kingston in Jamaica from Aug 30 to Sept 3

Meanwhile, there is no clarity over the future of Mahendra Singh Dhoni ahead of the limited-overs leg.

The former skipper’s future has been widely speculated ever since India lost to New Zealand on July 9. The 38-year-old is expected to make an announcement on it in the coming few days.

“The selectors will meet in Mumbai on July 19. We have not heard from Dhoni but what is relevant is the communication between the player and selectors. If you ask me, Dhoni did well in the World Cup but he is his own man. Only he can decide whether he wants to carry on or not,” a BCCI official said after the Committee Of Administrators’ meeting here.

There is also no official word on the availability of opener Shikhar Dhawan who is recovering from a thumb injury that cut short his World Cup campaign.

It was COA’s first meeting since India’s ouster from the World Cup but the Vinod Rai-led committee did not discuss the team’s performance.

However, the three-member panel and CEO Rahul Johri, who joined in via video conferencing as he remains in London for the ICC meetings, did discuss the issue of players picking and choosing games.

Former greats like Sunil Gavaskar had questioned the BCCI for allowing the likes of Dhoni and Dhawan to skip domestic cricket in the run-up to the World Cup.

“The question arises that who is allowing the players to pick and choose? Are they taking the call themselves or are they duly informing the selectors? The general feeling is that there needs to better communication on this issue,” said another BCCI official.

“You can’t pick and choose. Most World Cup-bound players played all games of the IPL and did not ask for rest back then,” he added.