Krishnamachari Srikkanth has shared his views about the T20I future of skipper Rohit Sharma and ex-captain Virat Kohli in the World Cup year.
With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli proving their mettle in the South Africa series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sanctioned the returns of all-formats stalwarts for India’s upcoming white-ball assignments in the T20 World Cup year. As India’s white-ball mavericks Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are nursing their respective injuries, the Rahul Dravid-coached side will audition youngsters in the Afghanistan series. On Sunday, the BCCI also confirmed Kohli and Rohit’s returns in the T20I setup.
Kohli and Rohit last played a T20I in 2022(Reuters)
Scheduled to host Afghanistan in its upcoming T20I series, India will miss the services of Suryakumar and Pandya. Team India is also without opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is unavailable due to a finger injury. Before the BCCI bigwigs took the final call on Rohit and Kohli, former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth backed the batting icons to feature in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup this year.
Sharing his views on YouTube in the build-up to India’s squad announcement for the T20I series, Srikkanth opined that skipper Rohit is undroppable when it comes to his selection for the ICC World T20. The 1983 World Cup winner also feels that former skipper Kohli can be a sure starter at the ICC event. Kohli and Rohit last played a T20I for India at the 2022 edition of the World Cup in Australia. India were outplayed by eventual champions England in the World Cup 2022 semi-finals.
‘If Rohit Sharma says I am available…’
“Virat Kohli is a certainty. He is in great form. Rohit Sharma, maybe, is confident because of how he scored in the World Cup. He will regroup and try and do well in the IPL. If Rohit Sharma says I am available, you can’t say you will drop him. At the end of the day, Rohit Sharma is also hurt that he has lost a World Cup. He would like to go out with a World Cup in his hand at least. He was there in the 2007 World Cup. He would want to do something similar, win a World Cup, and go out,” Srikkanth said.
Rohit and Kohli were rested for the entire white-ball leg of the South Africa series after the 2023 One Day International (ODI) World Cup. Rohit finished behind all-time leader Kohli in the run-getters list at the World Cup. In Rohit’s absence, India were led by Surykumar for the South Africa T20Is. The three-match series against Afghanistan is Team India’s last bilateral T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup.
‘Kohli would definitely want to win…’
“Virat Kohli would definitely want to win a T20 World Cup. Moreover, last year only the T20 World Cup took place, 13 months back. Virat Kohli was in extraordinary form. If they say they are available, I don’t think you can drop them. If you want to give captaincy to Hardik, you can. But you have to also look at his (Hardik’s) fitness,” Srikkanth added.