Team India unveiled its 16-man roster for the three-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan on Sunday, January 7, under the leadership of captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli. The pair did not appear in a series for the previous 14 months, and their last appearance came in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final against England.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya had been given charge of the team while Rohit Sharma was away, and there were a lot of rumors circulating that he would also skipper the team in the T20 World Cup. However, the management of the team decided to bring Rohit back due to an injury that both he and Suryakumar Yadav, the team’s captain for the previous two series, suffered at the last minute.
Virat Kohli ought to be present as well.
Rohit Sharma has received support from Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of India, to skipper the team in the 2019 T20 World Cup.
“It goes without saying that Rohit should lead the team in the T20I World Cup. The Hindustan Times cited Ganguly as stating, “Virat Kohli is an incredible player; nothing will happen (even if they are returning to the T20 fold after a long break).”
With 4008 and 3853 runs, respectively, Kohli and Rohit hold the top two positions as the highest scorers in T20I history. With 1141 runs from 25 innings at an average of 81.50 and 14 half-centuries, Kohli leads the T20 World Cup in run scoring. He is a different animal in these competitions.
India and Afghanistan will play a series starting on January 11.
In the tournament’s 2014 and 2016 iterations, the 35-year-old took home the Player of the Tournament title. In 2014 (319 runs) and 2022 (296 runs), he also emerged as the top run scorer.
At Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, the three-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan will kick off on Thursday, January 11. In contrast, the USA and the West Indies will host the T20 World Cup 2024 starting on June 1.
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