Virat-Rohit returns to T20 after 14 months: Both are sure to play in T-20 World Cup

Virat-Rohit returns to T20 after 14 months: Both are sure to play in T-20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had not played a single T20 International match in the last 14 months. After the defeat in the semi-finals of the last T20 World Cup, the Indian selectors were giving preference to youth in this format. But now these veterans have returned to the team for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan starting from January 11.

ODI World Cup team will enter T-20 World Cup

A senior BCCI official told Bhaskar that the board wants to field almost the same team in the T-20 World Cup which had played in the last ODI World Cup. He said, even though India could not win the title in the ODI World Cup, the Indian team played brilliantly in the entire tournament.

The attitude of the Indian team was very aggressive and it can prove to be helpful in T-20 format also. Rohit and Virat were core members of the ODI World team. For this reason he has returned to the T-20 format.

Only three T20 International matches left before the World Cup

If Rohit and Virat had to be included in the T20 World Cup team, then they had to play in the T20 series against Afghanistan at any cost. Before the World Cup, India has only three international matches left in this format. After this our players will play in the Test series against England and then in the IPL.

IPL form will become the criteria for selection for the World Cup, but these three T20 International matches against Afghanistan cannot be ignored.

Rohit-Virat have not been able to win any World Cup together

Rohit Sharma was part of the team that won the T20 World Cup in 2007. At the same time, Virat Kohli was a part of the team that won the ODI World Cup in 2011. Although both have not been able to win any World Cup while being in the team together. He has every chance to complete this feat in white ball cricket in 2024.

Dravid's tenure extended under this strategy

As soon as the ODI World Cup ended, Virat Kohli's tenure as Indian coach was over. However, BCCI decided to extend Dravid's tenure. Dravid will remain associated with the team till the T20 World Cup. That means the coach-captain pair of Dravid-Rohit will be seen once again in the World Cup.

These ODI World Cup players are also in the race

Sources associated with BCCI are saying that 8 to 9 players of India who played in the ODI World Cup are strong contenders to play in the next T20 World Cup also. Apart from Rohit and Virat, these include Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.

Shreyas Iyer, Jadeja, Hardik Surya, Bumrah, Shami and Siraj are not included in the team announced for the series against Afghanistan. Most of these have been relaxed under workload management. Whereas Hardik, Surya and Shami are still injured.

Rinku, Tilak, and Bishnoi are among young players

Among the players who were not part of the ODI World Cup team but can be included in the T20 World Cup, Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi are strong contenders. Rinku has consistently shown good play in this format since the last IPL. At the same time, Tilak Verma has all-round ability. Ravi Bishnoi is currently the first choice of selectors in T-20 format. Whereas Samson and Jitesh are in the radar of selectors as wicketkeeper batsmen. However, all these players will have to show good performance in IPL 2024 also.