MUMBAI: There is a possibility that India captain Rohit Sharma, currently going through a lean patch, will be rested for some part of the West Indies tour, TOI has learnt. The national selectors are likely to pick the team for the tour on June 27, a day before the start of the Duleep Trophy in Bangalore.
The tour kicks off with the first Test in Dominica on July 12 while the second Test will be held in Trinidad.
“Rohit looked a bit jaded during the IPL and the World Test Championship final in England. The selectors want him to rest for some part of the West Indies tour. He’s likely to miss the Tests or the eight-match white-ball series (three ODIs and five T20Is) to follow. The selectors will speak to Rohit and then take a decision,” a source close to developments said.

Rohit scored just 332 runs in 16 games at an average of 20.75, with two fifties, in IPL-2023, and was out for 15 and 43 in the WTC final against Australia at the Oval. In case Rohit skips the Tests, there’s a chance Ajinkya Rahane, who enjoyed a remarkable comeback in the WTC final scoring 89 and 46, will be made stand-in captain for the tour. There’s also a big possibility that either or both pacers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be rested for the Tests.
There is pressure on Cheteshwar Pujara to retain his place in the side, but if both Rohit and Virat Kohli are rested from the tour, Pujara might earn a lifeline.

India’s tour of the West Indies will be their first series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle.