KOHLI LEFT OUT OF INDIA'S ONE-DAY SIDE FOR SRI LANKA SERIES

The captain is set to enjoy a long-awaited rest after the third Test

Virat Kohli will be given a chance to rest up after being left out of India’s one-day international squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

The national skipper will take charge for the third Test but then take time off ahead of a demanding trip to South Africa in the new year.

The move will not come as much of a surprise after Kohli spoke explicitly about his need for a break prior to India’s innings and 239-run demolition of Sri Lanka in the second Test.

He said: "Definitely, I do need a rest. When I think that my body needs to be rested, I'll ask for it. I am not a robot you can cut my skin and check, I bleed.

"From the outside it looks like 'why are people asking for rest, everyone played same number of games' but it's important to understand that not everyone had the same kind of workload in every game that you play.

"We have built such a strong core team now of 20-25 players, you don't want important players breaking down at important times.

"That is where the balance needs to be maintained. It's humanly impossible to maintain the same kind of intensity for a player who plays all three formats.

Rohit Sharma will stand in for Kohli during the three-match series and is expected to remain as skipper for the T20 internationals that follow.

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

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