IND vs AFG: "Once You've Picked Them..." - Parthiv Patel's Huge Statement On Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's T20 WC Chances

Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel has made a bold claim about Rohit Sharma that the Indian captain’s poor form will be overlooked by the selectors when they sit down for selection of India’s squad for the 20-team ICC T20 World Cup later this June.

The Indian captain has got out for 2 consecutive ducks including a golden in the ongoing 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. In the 3rd T20I, Rohit Sharma will look to put an end to his terrible form in a tailor-made batting pitch in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy stadium which hosts the series concluder.

Although his record in the venue in T20s doesn’t look convincing enough, the Indian management will still hope that Rohit Sharma comes out all guns blazing tonight but not the way he did in the 2nd T20I at Indore against a determined Afghanistan bowling attack.

If we talk about his numbers in the Chinnaswamy in the shortest format then Rohit Sharma has 29 runs in 3 matches there at a strike rate of nearly 112 with a best score of 18. In IPL, the 35-year-old has 235 runs to his name in 13 outings with a strike rate of 121, averaging nearly 20 and a best of 57 for the Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers.

With all odds against him not just in Chinnaswamy but overall in the series, Rohit will look to put an end to his misery tonight. He had to lose his wicket owing to Shubman Gill’s mistake in the 1st T20I and his rash shot selection got him out for a golden duck in the 2nd game.

Amid his poor form, Parthiv Patel has said that every player’s performance in this series will not negatively affect their chances of playing in the T20 World Cup, especially for someone like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He also stated that the Indian selectors introduced them both back to the T20 setup because they are in the plans for the World Cup.

“I don’t see this series as a selection series for the World Cup. I don’t think any player performing or not will impact their chances of WC selection, especially when you are talking about Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. Once you have picked them for the series, it means they are going for the World cup,” Parthiv Patel said, as quoted by CricketNext.

“He Would Like To Make It A Big One”, Parthiv Patel Affirms Rohit Sharma To Get Over His Purple Patch Tonight

Rohit Sharma has got out for a duck 4 times in his last 5 T20Is on home soil. The run started back in September 2022 when he departed for 0 in the 1st T20 against South Africa before scoring 43 in the 2nd and then getting out for a duck again in the 3rd match.

And as India played their first T20I series at home since then, Rohit’s terrible run continued and he completed the hat trick of ducks in the 2nd match at Holkar. However, Parthiv Patel feels that the 6-time IPL winner will be on for something big when he takes the guard in Chinnaswamy later this evening.

“Rohit Sharma personally would like to score runs. He likes to set the tone and if he gets in, he would like to make it a big one,” Parthiv Patel concluded.