'Youngsters Will Have To Beat Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli..'- Ashish Nehra

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra shared his thoughts on veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future in the shortest format of the game. Ashish Nehra backed the batting duo to be part of the Indian squad for next year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.

Rohit and Virat haven’t played T20Is since the semi-final loss in the last T20 World Cup. The future of the senior pair in T20Is remains uncertain due to the power-packed schedule. The selectors need to decide on their role in the setup with the World Cup six months away.

Youngsters Will Have To Beat Them To Make A Place – Ashish Nehra

Speaking on JioCinema ahead of the first T20I, Ashish Nehra emphasized that age should not be a determining factor for players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Nehra said that younger players would need to outperform them to secure a spot in the playing XI.

“Age is no criterion. What matters is how many runs you are scoring. We spoke about Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill… but if Rohit Sharma wants to play, they have to compete with him. Here is a 36-year-old super-youngster, fearless guy. When we talk about Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, again — World Cup is very far — if they want to play and they are scoring runs, youngsters will have to beat them to make a place in the XI,” Nehra told JioCinema.

ODI World Cup Loss Shouldn’t Make A Difference – Ashish Nehra

The cricketer-turned-commentator stated that the recent loss in the ODI World Cup should not impact the potential return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to T20Is. Nehra expressed hope that the duo wouldn’t announce retirement in the near future.

“Loss in the ODI World Cup shouldn’t make a difference. How those two think is the most important part. Virat Kohli is scoring runs in IPL, Rohit Sharma is performing, any selector will be tempted and they will have discussions unless they announce their retirement, which I hope won’t be the case in near future,” said Nehra further.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are absent from the ongoing five-match series between India and Australia. The selectors picked only three players from the 2023 World Cup campaign. The hosts registered a two-wicket victory in the first game to take a 1-0 lead on Thursday.

Also read: ‘Rohit Sharma Can Play So Fearless And Aggressively Because Of Virat Kohli’: Ashish Nehra