Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Make a Comeback in T20I Squad

After the 2022 World Cup failure, the selectors do a U-turn after giving it careful deliberation to move past Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

(Cricket News) Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to India colours in the most popular format of the game after a 14-month absence and 25 missed Twenty20 Internationals. Sharma will walk out to toss on January 11 in Mohali against Afghanistan after being named captain for the forthcoming three-match home series.

This all but confirms that Sharma and Kohli are set to play the June T20 World Cup in USA-West Indies; unless their form collapses in the Indian Premier League. The Afghanistan T20I series is India’s final before the main event; following that the selectors will have only the Indian Premier League to base their final decision.

After back-to-back World Cup campaigns ended in disappointment, there had been discussions within the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to look beyond the experienced batting duo, according to cricket officials who wished to remain anonymous.

In the UAE 2021 and Australia 2022 editions, India looked to play a dated brand of T20 cricket handicapped by a one-dimensional, right-hand dominant batting order. Four different captains have led the T20I side since India was humiliated by winners England in the semi-final at Adelaide in November 2022: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Suryakumar Yadav.

While many all-format players, including Sharma and Kohli, were rested for most of 2023 in order to manage their workload for the ODI World Cup, the two players were also absent from the most recent T20I series against Australia and South Africa.

The absence of Sharma also hindered the selectors’ ability to choose the captain for the Afghanistan series, as Pandya and Yadav are still recovering from ankle injuries. Although Sharma and Kohli have amassed respectable T20I totals of 3,853 runs at a strike rate of 139.24 and 4,008 at 137.96, respectively, they are essentially up against two younger, more exciting options that India has for the top-order.

Left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal (625 runs, S/R 163.61 in IPL 2023) and Shubman Gill (890 runs at a S/R of 157.80 in the most recent IPL), assuming Sharma keeps his opening spot and Kohli bats at No. 3.

While Sharma has been a shadow of his former T20 self in recent years, particularly in the IPL, the 36-year-old managed to improve in the ODI World Cup last year, winning powerplays at an astounding S/R of 135 in the first ten overs.

This performance has been cited by numerous experts in support of Sharma’s T20I comeback. As for Kohli, his big-match temperament would have contributed to his World Cup return; he also continues to be a crowd-puller and contributes his brand equity to a tournament that is perceived as cricket’s first serious attempt to enter the vast US sports market.

Following his recent loss of the Mumbai Indians captaincy to Pandya, Sharma’s return will likely restore some order to the dressing room dynamics. It will be an unusual instance in which the captain of India plays under a different leader in the Indian Premier League.

Pandya has been leading India while Sharma is out, but he may have to wait longer as it looks like a decision has already been made.