‘Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still excellent…’ – Sunil Gavaskar explains the Indian duo’s importance for the 2024 T20 World Cup
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not played a single T20I since India’s semi-final against England in the 2022 World Cup in Australia.
New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar felt it was of utmost importance that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the Indian T20I squad for the World Cup later this year. Notably, Rohit and Virat have opted out of T20Is since the 2022 World Cup semi-final against England. With the T20 World Cup fast approaching, the Indian cricket fraternity finds itself in a quandary over the possible return of the two living legends of the game.
Gavaskar believes that apart from their batting skills, both Rohit and Kohli are excellent fielders even at 35-36. “Virat Kohli’s form has been excellent in the last year and a half. He also played brilliantly in the ODI World Cup. So there shouldn’t be any debate about his batting ability in limited-overs cricket. A huge aspect is that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still excellent fielders,” Gavaskar said.
“Sometimes you get slow when you’re 35-36; Your throw isn’t that good anymore. So there are discussions about where to hold while setting out the field. That’s not a problem for these two as they are still great fielders.
“In addition to seniority in the locker room, they will also contribute on the field. We don’t know if Rohit will become captain, but whatever the case, every captain will definitely benefit from it,” Gavaskar further added. In Rohit’s absence, Hardik Pandya has taken on the captaincy for the T20I, although there has been no formal announcement.
However, the BCCI selection committee is yet to name the squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. It remains to be seen if both Kohli and Rohit are named in the squad. On the other hand, it is still not clear when Hardik will be back in the side.
The all-rounder suffered an injury at home against Bangladesh during the ODI World Cup and has been out of action since then. Pandya missed the home T20I series against Australia and also the tour to South Africa. Suryakumar Yadav led India against both Australia and South Africa in Hardik’s absence since Rohit withdrew.
Meanwhile, India has been drawn into Group A along with Pakistan, Canada, Ireland and the United States, the match of which was announced on Friday. The Men in Blue open their campaign against Ireland on June 5, before the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan four days later.