Kohli rested for Lanka ODIs; Rohit to lead

Nagpur : “Definitely, I do need rest… I’m not a robot,” Virat Kohli had declared on November 15 in Kolkata, right before the first Test. Kohli had said that he’d “ask” for rest when he needed it.
Kohli has spoken, and the selectors have obliged. Kohli has been rested for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, and Rohit Sharma will be captain the team.
There had been speculation that Kohli could pull out of the third Test in New Delhi if India won here. India did win in Nagpur, but Kohli has chosen to play in Delhi.
The selectors — MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh — were here to pick the Test squad for the tour of South Africa, though there’s close to a month before the team departs for that tour. The idea behind naming the squad so early was to make sure that the Test specialists would have five weeks to prepare themselves before the first Test, which begins on January 5. However, only the teams for India’s ODI and T20I series were picked. Apparently, BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhury, convenor of the selection committee meeting, was unable to reach Nagpur due to flight delays. This was the reason why only the squads for the third Test in Delhi and the three-match ODI series were picked.
The squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, and also the squad for the Test tour of South Africa, would be selected during the third Test, which begins on December 2. Rohit was named India’s ODI vice-captain before the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.