With the announcement of the India squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has cleared the air over the participation of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup 2024. Even though the two stalwarts have been absent from the shortest format for over 13 months, former India captain Sourav Ganguly opined that Rohit and Kohli will lead the batting charge of the Men In Blue in the ICC event.
The 2024 edition of the ICC World T20 is slated to be co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies in June. Kohli and Rohit have been absent from T20Is since the semifinal match against England in the 2022 World Cup. The batting duo was expected to return after the ODI World Cup in November. However, the seasoned campaigners extended their break from T20Is and there were no clear-cut signals about what the future holds for Rohit and Kohli.
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On Sunday, BCCI announced India’s squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan, which will be the final assignment for the 2007 champions before the World Cup 2024. Before BCCI confirmed the returns of Rohit and Kohli, Ganguly had backed both the veteran cricketers to feature in India’s squad for the T20I World Cup. The former India cricketer further added that Rohit will be leading the side as discussions grew on whether Hardik Pandya should take over the role if the 37-year-old misses the tournament.
‘Rohit should captain the team’
“Of course Rohit should captain the team in the T20I World Cup. Virat Kohli also should be there. Virat Kohli is an outstanding player, nothing will happen (even if they are coming back to T20 fold after a long gap),” Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.
The former India skipper was also impressed with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in the recently concluded two-Test series in South Africa and added that the young opener will get enough opportunities in future. The left-handed batter managed to score just 50 runs in four innings on the challenging tracks of Centurion and Cape Town as the contest ended in a 1-1 draw. “He has played well in the second Test, it’s just the start of his career. He will get enough opportunities,” Ganguly added.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
