Welcoming the returns of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma into the T20I setup, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has weighed in on the possibility of the veteran batters headlining the T20 World Cup later this year. Former India skipper Kohli is set to miss the first T20I against Afghanistan. In Kohli's absence, Shubman Gill is expected to take up the No.3 batting position and youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings with skipper Rohit at Mohali.
Unavailable for the series opener due to personal reasons, Kohli will mark his return to T20I cricket in the second match against Afghanistan. Kohli will have only two games to strengthen his selection case further in India's final T20I assignment before the World Cup in June this year. Talking about the comebacks of senior batters Rohit and Kohli, batting legend Gavaskar suggested that the senior batters should clear the selection hurdle despite having an ordinary Indian Premier League (IPL).
'IPL form will be crucial because…'
"I feel the IPL form will be crucial because that will be the current form. The Afghanistan series is in January. The World Cup is in June. So whoever has good form in March, April and May should be given consideration first, that performance should be given consideration. Along with that, I will also say that even if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have an ordinary IPL, but they score runs there, you cannot score runs in every match, but suppose they make good contributions in five out of 14 matches, you will have to take advantage of their experience, and you can probably pick them in the team," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Gavaskar's out-of-the-box suggestion
{{/usCountry}}"I feel the IPL form will be crucial because that will be the current form. The Afghanistan series is in January. The World Cup is in June. So whoever has good form in March, April and May should be given consideration first, that performance should be given consideration. Along with that, I will also say that even if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have an ordinary IPL, but they score runs there, you cannot score runs in every match, but suppose they make good contributions in five out of 14 matches, you will have to take advantage of their experience, and you can probably pick them in the team," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Gavaskar's out-of-the-box suggestion
{{/usCountry}}Indian skipper Rohit will take up the role of a pure batter at Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2024. Veteran opener Rohit has been replaced by all-rounder Hardik Pandya as Mumbai's captain for the 2024 season of the cash-rich league. Kohli had earlier stepped down from the leadership role at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The IPL 2024 is expected to be finished by the third week of May, while the T20 World Cup is slated in June.
Interestingly, Gavaskar also suggested that Kohli and Rohit should at least be at the Indian dugout if they are overlooked by selectors for T20 World Cup. "I will also say that, it's an out-of-the-box suggestion, you can take them along with the team as well, if you cannot pick them in the 14 (15), because of their experience. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in the dugout, imagine what will be the team's confidence," Gavaskar added.