Questions over Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's return to T20 cricket are set to be answered when the BCCI announces a squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan starting on January 11. Both veteran batters haven't played a T20I game since India's semi-final defeat against England in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Both Virat and Rohit are in excellent form across formats lately with the former hitting a combined nine centuries in 2023. But the duo was not part of the recent T20I series against South Africa and Australia. With the next T20 World Cup 2024 only five months away, the management is to take a big call on senior players' involvement in the shortest format.
According to a report from PTI, both veterans have informed Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the BCCI selection committee, of their availability for the T20I selection. Rohit is also tipped to take back captaincy duties if returns for the Afghanistan series.
Meanwhile, the former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has also backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to make a return to T20 internationals. Ganguly stated that Rohit should captain the Indian team in the upcoming World Cup and Kohli should be included as well.
"Of course, Rohit should captain the team in the T20I World Cup," Ganguly told reporters. "Virat Kohli also should be there. Virat Kohli is an outstanding player, nothing will happen (to return after 14 months)."
Ganguly also shared his thoughts over India's return to winning way after a heartbreaking defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023 final on December 19, 2023. The legendary batter believes that the Men in Blue remains a strong side across formats after winning the ODI series against South Africa and drawing both Test and T20Is.
"People say a lot of things after losing one match, India are a strong side. But look at the way they have played. They won the ODI series, drew both the Test and T20I series," Ganguly added.
