Cricket
‘T20 World Cup is very far. If Rohit and Kohli want to play…’: Nehra’s verdict | Cricket
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India’s two batting stalwarts – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – haven’t featured in T20Is since last year’s T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya has since been leading the Indian team in the shortest format, and his injury during the World Cup saw Suryakumar Yadav taking over the leadership role in the ongoing series against Australia. Neither Rohit nor Kohli have publicly spoken about their future in T20Is; in their absence, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Tilak Varma have produced strong performances in the shortest format, and continue to remain a part of the setup.
As such, speculations continue over the duo’s future in the format; on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported that Rohit Sharma is unlikely to play T20Is anymore, and had even discussed his future in the shortest format before the start of the ODI World Cup. The report further stated that if the younger crop does not perform, the selectors or the BCCI brass might just ask Rohit to reconsider his current stand.
While there was no mention of Virat Kohli in the report, it is likely that the two India batting stalwarts will be assigned the power to make a decision on their T20I careers. And according to bowler-turned-coach Ashish Nehra, the duo should be given a free hand on whether it wants to return to the shortest format. Nehra believes that the youngsters will have to make way for Rohit and Kohli, should they decide to continue in T20Is.
‘Age is not a criteria for selection’: Nehra on Rohit and Kohli
“Age is no criterion. What matters is how many runs you are scoring. We spoke about Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill… but if Rohit Sharma wants to play, they have to compete with him. Here is a 36-year-old super-youngster, fearless guy. When we talk about Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, again — World Cup is very far — if they want to play and they are scoring runs, youngsters will have to beat them to make a place in the XI,” Nehra said on JioCinema ahead of India’s first T20I against Australia on Thursday.
“Loss in the ODI World Cup shouldn’t make a difference. How those two think is the most important part. Virat Kohli is scoring runs in IPL, Rohit Sharma is performing, any selector will be tempted and they will have discussions unless they announce their retirement, which I hope won’t be the case in near future,” said Nehra further.
For the ongoing Australia series, all players who participated in the ODI World Cup bar Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Prasidh Krishna have been rested.
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