Following the shocking 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of the Englishmen in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, it seemed like Kohli and Rohit’s T20I careers were more or less over. However, the injury woes of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was earmarked as the next T20I captain, have forced the selectors to go for a change in plan. It did not help matters that stand-in T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has also been ruled out of the T20I series against Afghanistan due to an ankle injury he sustained in South Africa.
Confirming the squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan, the BCCI selectors brought back Rohit as captain. Clamor for his return as T20I leader was growing in the wake of his stupendous showing in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Incidentally, while Rohit is back as India’s T20I captain, Pandya recently replaced him as Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper.
Apart from Rohit and Kohli, Sanju Samson, who struck his maiden international hundred in South Africa, has also been included in the T20I squad for the Afghanistan series. Jitesh Sharma is the other keeper-batter in the team, while there is no place for Ishan Kishan, who had requested for rest from the Test series against South Africa.
Senior cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have also been rested for the series, while opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is unavailable as he is still recovering from an injury he suffered during the South Africa tour. All-rounder Shivam Dube finds a place in the team in Pandya’s absence.
The three T20Is will be played in Mohali (January 11), Indore (January 14) and Bengaluru (January 17).
India's squad for 3 T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
--By A Cricket Correspondent
