Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have the freedom to decide the future of T20I: report

India’s premium batsmen will decide the future of their T20 careers very soon.

New Delhi: Captain Rohit Sharma and ex-skipper Vira Kohli, who are 36 and 35 years old respectively, will have complete freedom to decide their future in the T20 internationals as the next T20 World Cup is in June 2024 and will take place in the USA and the West Indies.

“Rohit and Virat can play T20s and the T20 World Cup next year if they want,” a BCCI source said Times now.

Yesterday, a report emerged that Rohit is unlikely to play T20Is again and Hardik Pandya will become the long-term captain in the near future.

The BCCI source also said that these two cricket powerhouses cannot be simply removed. Virat finished as the top scorer of the tournament and their careers should be decided only by themselves.

“We cannot remove the highest run-scorer from the ODI World Cup. They are both our biggest players,” the source said.

Virat was the highest run-getter of the World Cup with 765 runs in 11 matches, while Rohit Sharma became the second highest run-getter with 597 runs.

The BCCI source also made it clear that if Rohit ultimately decides to give up his captaincy, Gujarat Titans skipper and India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will become the team’s long-term captain. If Rohit stays, Hardik will be his deputy.

“If Rohit decides to leave T20Is, only Hardik Pandya will be the captain, otherwise he will be his deputy,” the source clarified.

India will take on Australia in the T20I series today with the first T20I to be held at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.