India (Commonwealth) _ The selectors do a U-turn after seriously considering moving beyond the batting mainstays following the 2022 World Cup loss. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to India colors in the game’s most popular format after a 14-month absence and 25 Twenty20 Internationals. Sharma, who has been selected captain for the forthcoming three-match home series, will toss against Afghanistan on January 11 in Mohali.
Although there was no formal announcement from the selection committee following Sunday’s meeting, this all but guarantees that Sharma and Kohli will participate in the June T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean, unless their IPL form deteriorates. The Afghanistan T20I series is India’s penultimate before the flagship event; after that, the selectors will have just the IPL to make their final decision on.
After back-to-back World Cup campaigns ended in dismay, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee had discussions to go beyond the veteran batting tandem, according to cricket authorities who did not want to be identified. In the UAE 2021 and Australia 2022 editions, India seemed to play an outmoded type of T20 cricket, hampered by a one-dimensional, right-handed dominated batting order.
After being blanked by victors England in the semi-finals in Adelaide in November 2022, India’s T20I team has been headed by four different captains: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Suryakumar Yadav. Despite several of the all-format players, including Sharma and Kohli, were off for much of 2023 to prepare for the ODI World Cup, the duo did not participate in the two T2OI series over Australia and South Africa that recently concluded.
Without Sharma, the selectors were also hampered in picking a captain for the Afghanistan series, since Pandya and Yadav were yet to fully heal from ankle injuries. Sharma and Kohli have strong overall T20I stats, with 3,853 runs at 139.24 and 4,008 at 137.96, respectively.
However, the duo is effectively fighting with younger, more interesting alternatives India has for the top-order in left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal (625 runs, S/R 163.61 in IPL 2023), and Shubman Gill, who accumulated 890 runs in the previous IPL at a S/R of 157.80. Assuming Sharma keeps his opening place and Kohli bats at No. 3, Gill is no longer an automatic option. When Yadav returns, the selectors will have to make some more decisions.
In recent years, particularly in the IPL, Sharma has been a pale ghost of his previous T20 self. However, the 36-year-old was able to improve his game in last year’s ODI World Cup, winning powerplays single-handedly at an incredible S/R of 135 in the first 10 overs. Many analysts have used this in support of his comeback to the T20I format.
In Kohli’s instance, his big-match temperament would have influenced his comeback before of the World Cup. He is also a crowd-puller, bringing his reputation to a tournament that is seen as cricket’s first real attempt to break into the massive US sports market.
Sharma’s comeback will restore some order to the Mumbai Indians’ dressing room, since the batting great recently lost his leadership to Pandya. It will be an unusual situation in which the India captain plays under another skipper in the IPL. When healthy, Pandya has consistently led India in Sharma’s absence. But he could have to wait longer. For the moment, it looks like a choice has been taken.
Tilak Varma, the middle-order batsman, and Rinku Singh, who has emerged as a vital finisher, are both gaining prominence. With the selectors spoiled for options – Pandya will return to full fitness shortly – the wicket-keeper batter could prove to be a devastating lower-order batsman. That clarifies the reason why KL Rahul, the other all-format regular who has competed in the previous two T20I World Cups, does not feature.
Ishan Kishan, the other more straightforward top-order fit, is also left out. Bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja are rested ahead of the five-Test series against England.
