IND vs NZ: Former Pakistan Skipper Warns Rahul Dravid For Dropping Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma After 1st T20I Loss

An Indian team without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lost the first T20I against the Kiwis in Ranchi. They need to win the second T20I in Lucknow to keep the series alive. Hardik Pandya who has maintained an unbeaten run as India’s T20I skipper is now staring at his first T20I series defeat as captain.

India lost the first T20I by 21 runs as the batting lineup without Kohli and Rohit could not chase down 177 to win. This Indian batting lineup consists of Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda who are pretty inexperienced still in international cricket. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are the only experienced batters in this squad.

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Meanwhile, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid spoke about the likes of Kohli and Rohit rested from T20Is as of now looking at the ODI World Cup at home later this year.

“There are certain priorities we need to give to certain white-ball tournaments. So the priority after last year’s T20 World Cup has been these six games (ODIs against Sri Lanka and New Zealand) and Virat has played all these six games and he will get a bit of a break along with Rohit,” Dravid had said.

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However, after the first T20I loss former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif has questioned Dravid’s tactics of keeping the senior players out and whether the team can win the T20 World Cup without the two key batters. While Rohit Sharma has scored over 3000 T20I runs, Virat Kohli has scored over 4000 T20I runs and is the only batter to do so till now in international cricket.

“Can these players take you to the T20 World Cup final? Gill, Shaw, Tripathi, Hooda, Ishan… can these players take you to the final? In yesterday’s match (1st T20I vs NZ), there was a problem when they didn’t have a senior player. If they had a senior player, he could’ve taken them past the finishing line. So, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Dravid might have to consider bringing at least one of the two (Rohit and Kohli) if not both in the mix,” Latif said on his official YouTube channel.

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma haven’t played T20Is for the country since the T20 World Cup last year, where the side was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual champions England.

Also Read: IND vs NZ: “He’s The Best Batsman I’ve Ever Seen” – James Neesham Recalls Trent Boult’s Remark On Suryakumar Yadav At Mumbai Indians Nets

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