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SA great explains India's balancing act as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli return for Afghanistan T20Is: ‘We have seen IPL…’
The South African great explained India's balancing act as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have made their returns for the Afghanistan T20Is.
For the first time in 13 months, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be leading the world-class batting lineup of Team India in the shortest format. Moving on from the World Cup heartbreak, Rohit's Team India will hope to emerge as strong contenders for the ICC World Test Championship and the ICC World T20. India were outplayed by Australia in its home final of the 50-over World Cup last year. The two-time World Cup winners have failed to win a major ICC trophy since 2013.
The top scorers in the ICC World Cup 2023, Rohit and Kohli were rested for the entire white-ball leg of the South Africa series. The senior batter recently made their returns in the longest format by inspiring India to a 1-1 series draw against South Africa. On Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the comebacks of the batting duo as the Rahul Dravid-coached Indian side announced their squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan.
Speaking to news agency ANI after India toured South Africa, former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith shared his views about the inclusion of veteran batters Rohit and Kohli in the T20I side ahead of the ICC World T20. Smith, who is the commissioner of the SA20, said that Team India has their task cut out as the Asian giants will have to come up with a good blend of youth and experience for the T20 World Cup.
'We have seen IPL produce a serious amount of talent for India'
"It's about balancing workloads and introducing new players at various times, giving opportunity to the player with the amount of cricket India plays. We have seen IPL produce a serious amount of talent for India in this format. I think the selection panel and coaches have to figure out what stars they want and what squad they want to take from India to play on those types of pitches. We will have to see how they will compile the squad. With the amount of talent that India has now, it is a difficult choice to make. I think balancing some experience with youth .... also how they go about that," Smith was quoted as saying.
India's all-format skipper Rohit will lead the Kohli-starrer side for the first time in the shortest format since the 2022 World Cup. Rohit and Kohli last played a T20I at the Australia World Cup. Rohit and Co. lost the semi-finals at the hands of eventual champions England in the ICC World T20. After India's exit from the T20 World Cup, the 2007 champions have been mostly captained by all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Rohit's white-ball deputy and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav are unavailable for the Afghanistan T20Is. Rohit and Co. will meet the visitors at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday.
India's T20I squad for series vs Afghanistan:
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
