India coach Ravi Shastri revealed why Virat Kohli was rested from the recently concluded Asia Cup in UAE. Explaining the rest as necessary, Shastri said it was because of mental fatigue.

“Virat needed this rest. Physically he is a bull. You can’t keep him out of the ground. And the thing with Virat is if he plays, then you know the level of intensity he brings. So it was a case of just mental fatigue, giving him a break, take your mind off cricket and then come back fresh,” he was quoted as saying by Gulf News.

The India captain was not part of the team which lifted the Asia Cup title in UAE last week. Rohit Sharma led the team in Kohli’s absence and when he was rested for the Super-4 match against Afghanistan, former India skipper MS Dhoni led the team.

Shastri also added that a similar process will be followed for other players especially the fast bowlers to keep them energetic.

“And we will have to do it with a lot of other players. You know like Bumah (Jasprit Bumrah), Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), we have to sustain them and keep them energetic,” he added.

While Bhuvneshwar was rested for the Asia Cup, Bumrah was part of the squad but played only three games out of five.

Kohli returns to captain India for the two Test against West Indies with the first beginning in Rajkot on Friday.