"No guarantee of Virat Kohli opening with me in T20 World Cup.."- Rohit Sharma clears the air

Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who is not captaining 5-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2013, has made a huge revelation about team India's plans in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Rohit recently appeared in the famous Club Prairie Fire podcast with Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan among others and therein, he revealed that the reports about him and Virat Kohli opening in the T20 WC are nothing but fake. 

Rohit Sharma was asked to shed light on that report claiming he could have a new opening partner, come the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.

What did Rohit Sharma say about the rumors?

But in his own words, the Hitman stated that there is no truth in these suggestions and that unless India head coach Rahul Dravid or chief selector Ajit Agarkar make an announcement, every other report about the team has no heart and soul. The Men's selection committee is set to sit down on May 1st to decide the 15-man squad for the World Cup which will start from June 1 onwards. 

And in the podcast, Rohit Sharma confirmed that he is yet to speak to either of Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar as to who will open the innings with him and what will the top-order combination look like. At the moment, every India player is focussed on making the Indian Premier League 2024 season, a big one for them and their WC selection chances. In simple terms IPL 2024 is nothing more than a rehearsal for the mega event. 

"We haven't met so far, we haven't decided who'll open at the World Cup (on him and Kohli opening). In today's age, until and unless you don't hear from me, Rahul bhai or Ajit bhai, everything else is fake".  - Rohit Sharma said via Club Prairie Fire podcast. 

Not just for the Indian players but also for the foreigners in the competition, IPL 2024 is crucial and it is an audition for every single player. With that being said, a players' performance can spark up plenty of rumors like Virat Kohli's performance from the opening slot is causing. Kohli is currently leading the Orange cap race with 361 runs from 7 matches at a 70+ target but his performances have not really helped the Royal Challengers Benglauru as they struggle at the bottom.  

There are indications that the top 10 provisional list for the T20 World Cup has come out and therein, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant are some confirmed names. But there is no clarity as to who will open with Rohit Sharma. There are also indications that only one of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be selected in the team and as for the middle-order, either of Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh will make the cut. 

When will India begin their T20 World Cup campaign? 

Half of the Indian team will be flying a week prior to the start of the T20 World Cup while the remaining squad will reach USA after the final on May 16, depending on the teams qualified. And the Men in Blue will begin their campaign on June 5 with a clash against Ireland, followed by the Indo-Pak match on June 9 in New York. Rohit Sharma's men will then face USA and Canada in their final group matches on 12th and 15th June respectively.