India v New Zealand: Virat Kohli determined to ‘manage workload’ of fast bowlers

Virat Kohli, left, is aiming to seal a Test series against New Zealand but will have to do so without two of India's leading fast bowlers. Saurabh Das / AP Photo

INDORE // India must manage the workload of their fast bowlers during their jam-packed home season, captain Virat Kohli said after being deprived of two of his key pacemen for the third Test against New Zealand.

The veteran Ishant Sharma and in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar have both been ruled out of the final Test beginning in Indore on Saturday, undermining India’s chances of a clean sweep against New Zealand and raising fresh questions about the team’s strength in depth on the pace front.

Ishant has missed the whole series after contracting the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya while Bhuvneshwar was injured during the second Test in Kolkata after bagging his second five-wicket haul in the last three matches.

Bhuvneshwar’s replacement is Shardul Thakur, who is yet to make his international debut, and it means Mohammed Shami will shoulder a heavier burden even though he is on the comeback trail after being plagued with knee problems.

More cricket:

• India v New Zealand: Virat Kohli does not care about form as India eye series whitewash

• Pakistan v West Indies: Babar Azam continues to ramp up the hype in Abu Dhabi

• Osman Samiuddin on Azhar Ali: Pity Pakistan's captain, who cannot seem to win no matter what he does

“It’s very important to manage workload, especially for your fast bowlers,” Kohli said.

“For the one-day matches, they’ve been given rest because it’s a long Test season and we need the bowlers fresh,” he said, referring to the selectors’ decision to omit Ishant and Bhuvneshwar from the squad for three ODIs which follow the Tests.

Selectors also decided to rest Shami and spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the first three ODIs, while recalling veteran batsman Suresh Raina to the 15-member squad led by MS Dhoni.

Raina, who has scored 5,568 runs and taken 36 wickets from 223 ODIs, will return for the first time since October 2015.

The ongoing Test series against New Zealand marks the start of a packed programme of international cricket for India who are also due to host Tests against England, Bangladesh and Australia later this season.

Kohli was full of praise for Shami who made his Test comeback in July against West Indies after being sidelined for 18 months.

“Shami is someone who has come back very well,” he said.

“He’s worked very hard on his fitness as well. You can see he’s able to bowl those five-six over spells now.

“As captain I feel that he’s a very important bowler for us in this full season and in future, as well. Looking at the near future, his fitness and rhythm is very, very important.”

Shami, 26, has taken 66 wickets from 18 Tests at a strike-rate of 54.

India opener Gautam Gambhir is set to return to Test cricket after a two-year gap.

The left-hander, who turns 35 next week, replaced the injured Lokesh Rahul in the squad but sat out the Kolkata Test as Shikhar Dhawan opened the innings with Murali Vijay.

Dhawan fractured his left hand and uncapped Karun Nair was called into the squad as his replacement but Kohli confirmed that Gambhir would play in the final test starting on Saturday.

“That’s a natural replacement. He is the third opener,” Kohli said.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who missed the second Test with a viral illness, was optimistic of making it to the playing XI today and help his side avoid being whitewashed.

“I’m certainly very hopeful of playing tomorrow,” said Williamson, who scored 75 and 25 in the first Test. “I can say I am getting better each day.”

Williamson conceded India’s fast bowlers had outperformed his pace attack, making better use of the conditions and pitch.

“In the last game the seam bowlers made a bigger impact. We did not know coming here that reverse swing would be quite effective. They exploited reverse swing better than us,” he said.

“In this part of the world they exploit the conditions better than anyone. We certainly hope we can turn it around in this game.”

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport