Ravi Shastri wants Indian selectors to move on from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for T20I format, and bring in high-performing, younger players the next time they play in the format. He said that current form is what matters in the shortest format of the game.
Virat Kohli is the highest run-getter in T20Is with 4008 runs in 115 games to his name at an average of 52.73 and strike rate of 137.96. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma is second on the list with 3853 runs in 148 games. He has the most centuries in the format-4.
“Players like Rohit, Virat Kohli, they are proven, you know what they are all about. I would go in that [good performers in the IPL] direction so that they get the opportunities, they get the exposure, whilst you keep the Virats and the Rohits fresh for one-day cricket and Test cricket.
Your focus there with that kind of experience should move to Test cricket, red-ball cricket for the future World Test Championship, and they stay fresh [so that] there is not too much of cricket where there is an overkill. First T20 series that comes up, play these guys [the youngsters], expose these guys. They [the selectors] should start blooding them right now,” Shastri said on ESPNCricinfo’s Runorder show, when asked about how soon players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jitesh Sharma and Tilak Varma should get a promotion.
You Will Pick The Best Guys At The Time: Ravi Shastri Says Current Form Criteria For 2024 T20 World Cup Selection
With the 2024 T20 World Cup still more than a year away, the criteria for selection should solely be “current form”, Shastri argued.
“One year is a long time. Players can be in form, the form can disappear. You will pick the best guys at the time, and then, of course, the experience will count, fitness will count. Who is hot at the moment, who is consistent, who has got the runs and where he has got the runs,” he said.
Shastri also believed that each position in the batting order should be filled by a specialist, that players shouldn’t be forced into unnatural positions, and that there should be a decent balance of left and right-handed batters in the lineup.
“It should be the right man for the right job. It shouldn’t be a guy who bats at three or four for his franchise, and suddenly you make him bat at six or open the innings when it comes to picking a team for India.
I would like the mix of left-hand-right-hand batting combination. Just like you look for a left-armer with the ball, I would like to see left-handers there. You see this IPL, teams that have done well, look at the mix that they have,” he said.