India captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli have reportedly informed the BCCI that they still willing to represent the country in T20Is. Neither Rohit Sharma nor Virat Kohli has played a T20I for Team India since the semifinal loss in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
At first, it was assumed that the senior batters were rested. However, with no concrete update from the selectors as well as the BCCI, it appeared to be the end of the road for both the batters in the shortest format of the game. In the last one year or so, the selectors have tried out several new faces in the top order while Hardik Pandya was given the chance to lead the side.
However, recently reports emerged that Rohit Sharma might ply his trade for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The reports came out after the veteran batsman’s sensational batting display in the ODI World Cup where he scored almost 600 runs at a strike-rate of more than 125. Rohit Sharma also smashed 31 sixes during the tournament.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli willing to play T20Is:
The reports also suggested that while Rohit Sharma is likely to be a part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli is likely to miss out. While only time will tell whether the star batsmen make it to the squad or not, the Indian Express has reported that both the players have expressed their desire of playing T20Is for India.
The selection committee will meet on Friday to pick the team for the forthcoming three-match series against Afghanistan as well as for the first two games of the five-Test series against England. The series against Afghanistan will be India’s last T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup in June. And with both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma willing to play the T20 World Cup, they could be seen in action against Afghanistan.
The report further stated that India are set to have a new captain for the series against Afghanistan since Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are unavailable due to injury. The selectors are also likely to rest fast-bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the series against Afghanistan. The three-match series is scheduled to start on January 11 in Mohali.
