Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's T20 World Cup selection challenged; BCCI questioned for unpreparedness

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has given his opinion on the selection of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Kohli and Rohit were not in India's scheme of things for this tournament till last year.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hadn't played any T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final loss to England. Both the batters focused only on Test cricket and the ODI World Cup at home last year.

But both of them came back in the national T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan earlier this year. The move indicated that both the stalwarts will play in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Sanjay Manjrekar reacts to the selection of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for T20 World Cup 2024

Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the selectors were not ready to trust the youngsters, which resulted in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli coming back for the tournament.

"It felt as though the Indian selectors played it safe with their selections for the T20 World Cup squad. In picking Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it was a clear message that they were not yet ready to commit to the youth; they still wanted some experience around for an ICC event," Manjrekar wrote in his column for Hindustan Times.

Manjrekar also lauded India's new brand of cricket that they have played in this tournament. He also praised Virat Kohli for leaving his usual batting style and committing to a more aggressive style of play.

"The brand of cricket India are playing in this World Cup is one we have never seen before and something we are trying to come to terms with. To Virat’s credit, for someone who doesn’t like getting out (a trait that can be a weakness in T20 cricket), he has also committed himself to taking risks regularly and seems okay, as of now, with getting out while taking those risks," Manjrekar further wrote.

The former India batter also mentioned that India have gone with a traditional and safe way in terms of selecting the squad but their brand of cricket has been dynamic.

"The way India have batted so far conveys that even though selections have taken a more traditional and cautious route, the brand of cricket on the show is going to be modern and dynamic," he added.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli commit to aggressive style of batting

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been India's openers in this tournament. Both found it difficult to score runs in the group stage of the tournament on a tricky New York pitch assisting pace and bounce.

But both the experienced batters came into their own in the last game against Bangladesh when they stitched together an opening partnership of 39 runs in just 3.4 overs to give India a flying start.

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But both of them couldn't convert their starts into big ones as Rohit was dismissed for 23 off 11 balls, Kohli scored 37 off 28 balls and was out while trying to increase the scoring rate.

Despite the pitches being difficult to bat on, both have committed to an aggressive style of play rather than taking their time to help the team's cause.