IND vs AFG: MSK Prasad Reveals Reason Behind Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's T20I Absence Post T20 WC 2022

Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the Indian T20I side and have been picked for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Kohli and Rohit had been away from the Indian T20I set for the last 14 months and played their last match against England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final.

However, the return of the duo has increased the headache of the Indian selectors. There was speculation that the duo would not play in the 2024 T20 World Cup, however, the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has certainly cleared all the speculations.

The Indian selection committee had been preparing the core team for the T20 World Cup 2024 and it was most likely that Hardik Pandya would be leading the side if Rohit Sharma was unavailable for the tournament. However, Pandya got injured during the 2023 ODI World Cup and Suryakumar Yadav led India in the previous two T20I series.

Suryakumar Yadav led India to a 4-1 series win against Australia whereas India levelled the series against South Africa. Suryakumar was also another candidate to lead India in the absence of Rohit Sharma.

Former Indian cricketer and chief selector MSK Prasad while speaking to Star Sports stated that the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is not a jolt for the Indian team. Prasad further said that Virat-Rohit didn’t play the T20Is as they were preparing for the ODI World Cup 2023.

MSK Prasad throws light on why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were away from T20Is

MSD Prasad said, “The question arises, why they didn’t play after the last T20 World Cup. The reason they didn’t play is we were heading towards an ODI World Cup, so we predominantly wanted to focus on ODIs. That’s the reason they offered other youngsters who were maybe thinking towards the T20 World Cup. So that’s a wonderful thing from both of them, and even the selectors and team management have got it right.”

“Because if we are heading towards the ODI World Cup, it is better to focus on the ODIs, and we had the WTC also. So they were focusing on test cricket and ODI cricket. Now that we are heading towards a T20, they should be back to action.”

In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India have performed really well in the T20I format. The likes of young players such as Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Mukesh Kumar have stood up to their talent and have shown a lot of promise.

However, with the return of senior players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah, some of the players might have to lose their place in the Indian T20I side. However, this also explains how rich in talent is the Indian bench strength and also the future of Indian cricket is secure.

India won their last T20 World Cup in the year 2007 and will aim to bring the trophy back home in 2024.