New Delhi: Old is gold, that’s the message which reached fans as the Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Sunday named Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20 squad for the series against Afghanistan.
Coming back into the T20 mix after a gap of 14 months, it’s vital that the two senior-most men in Indian cricket are back for a series which may seem inconsequential. Many had thought after the ICC World Cup ended on November 19 in Mumbai, where Australia emerged winners, Rohit and Virat in white ball cricket would become history.
But then, circumstances have been a bit bizarre. First, Hardik Pandya, who got injured during the World Cup, is still in rehab. Second, the man who led India to a series triumph in the T20 format against South Africa, Suryakumar Yadav is also injured.
The shortest format has been perceived as right for younger players but the way Rohit and Virat have batted in recent months has been phenomenal. In the World Cup last November, as opener, Rohit was smashing the rival attacks and scoring almost a quickfire 40 runs in no time in power play.
As for Virat Kohli, the former skipper has been getting fitter by the day and his penchant for scoring runs continues. Be it the ODI format or Tests, Virat has been a class act, proof of which also came in the latest Test win against South Africa in Cape Town.
Usually, a series against Afghanistan would not be so hyped. However, before the ICC T20 World Cup, to be held in the summer in the United States of America and the West Indies, this is the last T20 international series. Of course, the Indian Premier League 2024 season will offer plenty of hints as to who is in form.
The debate now shifts to young versus old. Pandya’s frequent injuries and Suryakumar being ruled out means the BCCI think-tank is still planning to have Rohit as the T20 captain for the T20 World Cup.
What is also interesting is how the BCCI is now not going by age as an indicator to assess the form of players or whether they are suitable for the T20 whiz-thud cricket. Both Rohit and Virat are full of energy, which is most important.
An important omission is that of Shreyas Iyer, another good player in all formats. He is also the IPL captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. It is also mystifying as to what happened Ishan Kishan, another promising batter and wicket-keeper. Ishan is nowhere in the reckoning now, or he has some issues which are to be sorted.
The window of opportunity created for Sanju Samson is good and he had done recently in the South Africa tour as well. The pace pack for the series against Afghanistan is also refreshing. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested.
The team: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Y 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