The decision to rest Team India captain Rohit Sharma and senior pro Virat Kohli for the second time in the ODI series on Tuesday is sure to again raise questions about the team management’s logic behind such a move.

Head coach Rahul Dravid has already cited that the series against a lowly-placed West Indies provided the perfect opportunity to experiment ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup. Dravid must have been driven by the uncertainty surrounding KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer’s fitness — both are racing against time to make themselves available for the two high-profile tournaments.

The two batters are undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore following surgeries. Sources told The Telegraph that while Rahul is in the process of attaining full fitness, Shreyas could take longer than expected to start full-fledged batting at nets.

While including both Rohit and Kohli would have provided the perfect balance to the side, Dravid’s experimentation is aimed at trying to identify cover for any eventuality in the lead-up to the showpiece event in October-November.

“With the injuries we have at the NCA and some uncertainty surrounding them, we wanted to give some of the other boys a chance so if required they can play,” Dravid reasoned after the second ODI.

With Rishabh Pant out for another six months, Dravid was desperate to have Rahul as a wicketkeeper-batter. With the medical team at the NCA still not providing any clear timeline on Rahul’s availability, the team management is a little perturbed. Rahul could have been an ideal replacement for Pant as wicketkeeper-batter in the 50-over format.

The medical update provided by the Board a few days back on the status of Rahul and Shreyas’ injuries has been equally vague. The 15-member squad for the World Cup has to be sent to the ICC by September 5, a month ahead of the inaugural match.

India might have to gamble by including them in the squad. If they don’t attain the desired fitness by the first week of October or earlier, the Board will have to seek a replacement from the event technical committee.

If one or both are excluded from the Asia Cup, their only chance to prove match fitness will be during the three ODIs against Australia in September. In the event of any of them being unavailable, it would come as a blow considering only Rohit, Shubman Gill, Kohli and Hardik Pandya are certainties in the batting order.

India are in desperate need to find batters who can rise to the occasion. The batting now resembles a jigsaw puzzle and hardly enthuses confidence in the minds of the spectators.

The ODI probables will have a conditioning camp in Bangalore prior to their departure for the Asia Cup. That could provide some definite clue to the duo’s fitness status.