Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli is apparently no longer the first choice in India’s T20I XI. The spotlight has shifted quickly from ODIs to T20Is following the completion of the ODI World Cup 2023, where the Men in Blue suffered a heartbreaking defeat after dominating the entire showpiece event on home soil.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not included in India’s T20 Plan following the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup, as team management preferred younger players in the shorter format of the game. The Indian Veterans have been absent from the format since last year’s T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya has captained the side in the format in the absence of the regular Indian skipper.
According to the reports, the BCCI top authorities devised a blueprint for the forthcoming mega event in the West Indies and the United States during a five-hour meeting in New Delhi with captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar taking part in it.
Besides, India has only six T20Is left before finalising their T20 World Cup squad, three in South Africa and three at home against Afghanistan.
According to a BCCI official present at the meeting, the selectors and the board want a player who can play attacking cricket from the start. Ishan Kishan appears to be the favourite to take the third slot right now. In the home series against Australia, the left-hander batted at that position and had a couple of solid knocks against Australia in the five-match T20 series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal or Shubman Gill would likely open the batting with Rohit Sharma, with the other serving as a backup opener. Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja occupy the remaining spots in the batting order if Kishan is ranked at No. 3.
This means that Kohli, who is widely regarded as India’s finest white-ball player in the last two decades, will be unable to make it into the India squad for the marquee event.
Team India has seen the development of numerous youngsters this year. It will be interesting to see the team management go back to the experienced player for the marquee event.
Virat Kohli had an outstanding World Cup performance, scoring 765 runs in 11 innings, including three centuries, and was named the tournament player of the year. However, he has been continuously playing cricket for the last three months and will return for the two-match test series against South Africa.