BENGALURU, June 19: The BCCI has decided to give the Ireland-bound Indian T20 squad, led by Hardik Pandya, a three-day break before it leaves for the two-match series in Malahide.
While Rahul Dravid, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant will be taking an early morning flight on Monday for London, the BCCI wants its T20 specialists to take a short break.
“All the players selected for the Ireland T20s are going home for a three-day break. Although there is no bio-bubble they didn’t have families with them for the series and some are playing non-stop since IPL.
“It’s only fair that they spend some time at home,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on Sunday.
It is understood that all the members of the Ireland-bound squad will assemble in Mumbai on June 23 along with NCA head VVS Laxman and his team of support staff.
“Laxman and the players will be in Mumbai by 23rd and they will leave the next day for Dublin. Since they are already coming from a series, you don’t need time to get into the groove. Also it’s a two-match series, so you won’t be needing a lot of time to acclimatise,” he explained.
The T20I party, after playing the two games in Malahide on June 26 and 28, will move to the UK for T20 practice matches, which will coincide with the Test team’s ‘fifth’ game from last year in Edgbaston from July 1-5.
However, it is understood that not all the players in the current T20I set-up will be retained for the England tour, as many regulars will be making a comeback in the team.
“By the time the England white-ball series starts, you will see all the stars playing till the T20 World Cup. There will be no break from thereon save smaller series like Zimbabwe.
“Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja will all be back in the mix. Only person missing out for the time being is KL Rahul. So a few of the current top-order players (playing versus South Africa), fringe pacers or an odd spinner might miss out,” he stated. (PTI)
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