Team India's final T20 assignment before the IPL and the T20 World Cup came to an end with the hosts winning 3-0 against Afghanistan after the visitors ran close in probably the longest T20I match ever in Bengaluru a couple of days ago. The series marked the return for the senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after a long gap of 14 months, first time since the T20 World Cup. Both recorded ducks on different occasions in the series, Rohit in particular got out twice without scoring before compensating in the final match.
Kohli, on the other hand, didn't trouble the scorers at his IPL home ground, but in the second game in Indore where he got the start, showed the reinvention of Kohli as T20 batter as he smashed a 16-ball 29. With several youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma making a place in the side, many argued if the move to get both Rohit and Kohli was correct from Indian team point of view with a T20 World Cup approaching in less than five months. However, both showed at some point during the series that the team could play with both for maybe the final time in a T20 World Cup.
However, legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar wasn't happy with Rohit and Kohli's comeback saying that it made very little sense.
“Bringing back Rohit Sharma and Kohli for the three-match series against Afghanistan made little sense, and the manner in which the skipper got out to the first ball he faced in the second game made one wonder if he is even interested in being out there,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
"Having gotten run out for a duck in the first game, it was expected that Rohit would look to get some runs in the second. Instead, he played a forgettable shot to the first ball he faced and was back warming the cold bench in the changing room,” he added. Kohli too in the final game got out to a rising ball while trying to attack while coming down the track. However, it wasn't to be. But Rohit did provide the crowd with their money's worth as he smashed a 69-ball 121 to help India get to 212, which eventually was enough even after a couple of super overs.
