India’s T20 squad will undergo a major transition in the next 12 months. The next T20 World Cup is still a year away and if the developments are to be believed, there will be a brand new team in place with Hardik Pandya being the long-term captaincy choice.
Several Indian veterans are approaching the twilight of their careers, leading to speculation that they could retire after the T20 series against Ireland. They have provided fans with some match-winning performances for the Indian team in the last decade and a half.
This could be the last time when a few Indian players would appear in this format for the last time. They could even plan or announce their retirement from the T20 format after the Ireland tour in 2023. Here are the three Indian Players Who Can Retire From T20Is after the series.
1. Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has managed to score only 140 runs in 13 games for his side as he was unable to play a single match-winning knock in the entire season and many fans speculate that this could be the end road for the comeback man in cricket as the Indian wicket-keeper batter might play his final series in Ireland if provided an opportunity.
The 38-year-old had a brilliant season for the Faf du Plessis-led side scoring 330 runs from 16 matches last year at an average of 55.0 making a remarkable comeback into the Indian T20 side, where he could not replicate his form in the 2022 T20 World Cup but could do his best in IPL 2023. Dinesh Karthik is also engaging himself as a commentator in major events and the Ireland series may be the last tournament for the Tamil Nadu batter.
2. Mohit Sharma
Mohit Sharma made a stunning comeback into the Indian Premier League as he played a crucial role for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023. The Indian veteran has picked up 27 wickets at a decent economy of 8.17 in the 14 matches bowling the tough death overs for the Hardik Pandya-led side. Mohit was brought into IPL 2023 mini-auction for INR 50 lakh and was a part of the Titans’ net bowling unit last year.
Mohit made his debut for the Men in Blue in 2013–and later was part of the squad of the ICC ODI World Cup 2015. The 35-year-old last featured for Team India in 2015 in a T20I fixture. With his performance in the IPL, the Indian veteran might provide an opportunity in the Ireland series and the pacer could well be his final International cricket in the T20 series in Ireland.
3. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin found himself out of the limited over the format of the game due to poor performances in white ball cricket, after which he made a comeback into the Indian side only in the 2021 T20 World Cup and also played the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, but could not make an impact for India in the mega event.
Even though the Indian veteran was part of the Indian setup in red-ball cricket, he found himself out of the playing 11 in overseas conditions, despite performing well in the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket. The Indian veteran has been an asset for India ever since making his debut in 2011 against West Indies and with the age not being on his side, the Indian spinner would retire from T20 cricket after the Ireland series if provided an opportunity in the series.