Virat Kohli and Rishabh will not play the third T20 against the West Indies on Sunday as they have been permitted a break from the Covid bio-bubble by the BCCI.
Both players scored crucial half-centuries in the second T20 at the Eden Gardens, helping India post a target of 186 that proved to be beyond the reach of the vistors.
The BCCI has given the former team captain Kohli a 10-day break from the Indian team's bio-bubble as he left for home. This is in keeping with the board's recent policy to rest key players to manage their workload.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are among the players rested for the West Indies series.
Kohli and Pant will also not play in the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka beginning February 24 in Lucknow.
"Yes, Kohli has left home on Saturday morning as India have already won the series. As it has been decided by BCCI, it will be a policy to give all the regular all format players periodic breaks from the bubble to ensure that their workload management and mental health is taken care of," a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
The Indian team for the Sri Lanka series will be picked later today.
During the ongoing home tour against the West Indies, much of the talk has been around Kohli's form as he has not scored a century in any format in over two years.
When asked if Kohli was short on confidence, team captain Rohit Sharma hit back saying, “Virat Kohli ko confidence ki zaroorat hai? Kya baat kar rahe ho yaar? [Does Virat Kohli need confidence? What are you saying?]”
In another presser, Sharma asked the media to “leave Virat alone” as he knows how to deal with pressure situations.
India has beaten the West Indies in the ODI series 3-0 and now leads the T20 series 2-0 before the final match on Sunday.
- With inputs from PTI
