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Rohit, Virat return to T20I fold as World Cup looms
The selectors take a U-turn after giving serious thought to move past the batting stalwarts following the 2022 World Cup disappointment
After being away for 14 months and missing 25 T2OIs, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in India colours in the game’s most popular format. Sharma will walk out to toss on January 11 in Mohali against Afghanistan after being named captain for the upcoming three-match home series.
Although there was no official word from the selection committee after Sunday’s meet, this all but confirms that Sharma and Kohli are set to play the June T20 World Cup in USA-West Indies; unless their form nosedives in IPL. The Afghanistan T20I series is India’s last before the marquee event; after that the selectors will only have IPL to base their final judgement.
Discussions had taken place within the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to look beyond the experienced batting duo after back-to-back World Cup campaigns had ended in disappointment, cricket officials who did not want to be named had said. In the UAE 2021 and Australia 2022 editions, India appeared to play a dated brand of T2O cricket handicapped by a one-dimensional, right-hand dominant batting order.
After India were blanked by winners England in the semi-final at Adelaide in November 2022, the T2OI side has been led by four different captains – Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav. Although many of the all-format players - Sharma and Kohli included – were rested for most of 2023 to manage their workload for the ODI World Cup, the duo also did not feature in the two T2OI series against Australia and South Africa played recently.
Without Sharma, the selectors were also hamstrung in naming the skipper for the Afghanistan series with Pandya and Yadav yet to fully recover from ankle injury. The overall T20I numbers of Sharma and Kohli are good – 3,853 runs at a strike rate of 139.24 and 4,008 at 137.96.
But the duo is essentially competing with younger, more exciting options India has for the top-order in left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal (625 runs, S/R 163.61 in IPL 2023) and Shubman Gill, who amassed 890 runs in the last IPL at a S/R of 157.80. Assuming Sharma retains his opening spot and Kohli bats at No.3, Gill no longer remains an automatic choice. Once the inimitable Yadav returns to the fold, the selectors will again have to take some calls.
Sharma, in the last few years, including in IPL, has been a pale shadow of his former T20 self. But the 36-year-old was able to lift his game in last year’s ODI World Cup, single-handedly winning powerplays at an astonishing S/R of 135 in the first ten overs. This has been cited by many experts while advocating his T20I return.
In Kohli’s case, his big-match temperament would have played a part in his return ahead of the World Cup. He also remains a crowd-puller and brings his brand equity to a tournament which is seen as the first serious attempt by cricket to make a foray into the vast US sports market.
Sharma’s return will bring some order to dressing room dynamics, the batting star having lost Mumbai Indians’ captaincy recently to Pandya. It will be a rare case where the India captain plays under another leader in IPL. All along, when fit, Pandya has been leading India in Sharma’s absence. But he may have to wait longer. For now, a decision appears to have been made.
NO KL RAHUL
In the middle-order, Tilak Varma continues to grow in stature and so does Rinku Singh, who has emerged as a key finisher. With the selectors spoilt for choice – Pandya will gain full fitness soon - the wicket-keeper batter may have to be someone who can be destructive down the order. That explains why KL Rahul, the other all-format regular who played in the last two T20I World Cups, finds no place.
Ishan Kishan, the other more natural top-order fit, also misses out. Hard-hitter Jitesh Sharma, in the squad for last few series, and comeback man Sanju Samson will vie for that spot in the upcoming matches. Shreyas Iyer, without getting many opportunities in the last series, has had to move out. He will need an outstanding IPL to stake his claim.
Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja are rested in view of the five-Test series coming up against England. Pacer Mukesh Kumar keeps his place, while Avesh Khan and Axar Patel are back to try and make it count. Left-hander Shivam Dube too remains in the mix for his all-round skills.
