Virat Kohli Rested For ODI Series vs Sri Lanka, Shikhar Dhawan Returns For Final Test

India skipper Virat Kohli was on Monday rested for the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka, starting on December 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a press release on Monday. The 15-member squad will be led by Rohit Sharma in Kohli's absence. A surprise addition to the India ODI squad was right-arm pacer Siddharth Kaul, while Shreyas Iyer, who as member of the Indian T20 international squad for the New Zealand series, too got a call-up for the ODI squad. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan returns to the team for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting on December 2 in New Delhi.

The left-hander, who opted out of the second Test due to personal reasons, will have to vie for a starting place against Murali Vijay, who notched a century in the Nagpur Test.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named the squad for the third and final Test of the ongoing Paytm Test series against Sri Lanka. The selectors have also announced the squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series," BCCI release stated.

"Current India captain Mr. Virat Kohli has been rested for the ODI series."

Kohli, who has been playing non-stop cricket since IPL, will be given a month's break to recharge his batteries before the all-important South Africa tour.

Kohli was not happy about the tight schedule of the Sri Lanka series, which leaves India with no time whatsoever to prepare for the South Africa series.

The skipper had said that the need for bouncy tracks for the Sri Lanka series was essentially a substitute for practice for the South Africa tour, beginning two days after this series.

Asked before the 2nd Test in Nagpur if had asked for bouncy tracks, Kohli had said: "Yes (I had), because unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over. So we have no choice but try to be in a game situation and think of what's coming ahead of us."

While the India skipper did not name the BCCI directly, his displeasure at the scheduling was aimed right at the board, which has the final say on how series are finalised.

"Had we got a month off ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to sort of make do with what we have."

The Indian team will finish their limited overs engagement against the islanders on December 24 (final T20) before they fly off to South Africa on December 27.

India and Sri Lanka are currently engaged in a three-match Test series, which will be followed by three one-dayers starting December 10 in Dharamsala.

The third and final Test of the series will be played from December 2 in the national capital.

The Squads:

India squad for the third Test: Virat Kohli (capt), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar

India squad for the ODI series: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.