Nidahas Trophy: Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni Rested; Rohit Sharma To Captain India

India skipper Virat Kohli and former captain MS Dhoni were both rested from the India squad for the upcoming Twenty20 International tournament -- Nidahas Trophy -- that will be held in Sri Lanka in March. Rohit Sharma will lead India's new-look 15-member team that will be minus quite a few regular starters. Shikhar Dhawan has been named vice-captain of the Indian side with BCCI, stating in a press release, that the team was picked keeping in my the workload and upcoming schedule. The T20I tournament also features Bangladesh as the third team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya too have been rested while Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar earned a call-up to the Indian side. Vijay Shankar and Mohammad Siraj have also been included in the India squad while Rishabh Pant will be the second wicketkeeper in the team.

TEAM: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk). pic.twitter.com/9l9sTnXOb3

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 25, 2018

"We’ve kept in mind the workload and upcoming schedule while finalizing the team for Nidahas Trophy. The high-performance team has suggested that adequate rest should be given to our fast bowlers to help improve athletic performance, maximize rest and prevent injury,” MSK Prasad, Chairman, All-India Senior Selection Committee, said. 

"Mr MS Dhoni was not available for selection as he had requested for rest," he added.

India will face Sri Lanka in the opening match of the Nidahas Trophy triangular Twenty20 International tournament, starting on March 6.

The tournament has been organised in order to mark the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence. The matches will be played under lights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The tournament, Nidahas Trophy, will follow a round-robin format with all the three teams playing each other twice, and the top two progressing to the March 18 final.

The tournament will be telecast in India by DSPORT, a sports channel by Discovery Communications.

India Squad:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk)

Schedule:
March 6: Sri Lanka v India
March 8: Bangladesh v India
March 10: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh
March 12: India v Sri Lanka
March 14: India v Bangladesh
March 16: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
March 18: Final