Batting great Sunil Gavaskar asserted that star players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma make a strong case for their participation in the much-anticipated T20 World Cup. The ICC announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup that is set to begin on June 1 this year with the USA and West Indies co-hosting the marquee tournament.
India’s T20 World Cup 2024 schedule
Gavaskar, while speaking on Star Sports, backed Kohli and Rohit to be part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup. Gavaskar lauded Kohli’s recent form and performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, where the star batter was the top run scorer with 765 runs in 11 innings. The former Indian captain also mentioned the fielding of both players being a key factor in their inclusion, apart from their seniority.
“Kohli’s form has been outstanding in the last 1.5 years. He played unbelievably in the 2023 World Cup, making 750-plus runs with 3 centuries. So, there is no doubt about his limited-overs batting. But what makes me feel good is their fielding capacity. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still great fielders and will be of great help on the field,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Rohit and Kohli’s last appearance in the shortest format for India was in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2022 against England in Australia. Ever since, the duo haven’t taken part in T20I games for India. India’s T20I vice-captain Hardik Pandya took over the leadership role for India in the format.
However, due to his ankle injury, Suryakumar Yadav captained India in T20Is against Australia and South Africa. Rohit and Kohli made themselves available for selection for the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan, starting January 11. This will be the last T20I series for India in the lead-up to the World Cup.
The T20 World Cup will be a 20-team tournament and the teams are divided into 4 groups. India are part of Group A and will be playing against Ireland, the USA, Canada and Pakistan. The high-voltage clash against Pakistan is scheduled to take place on June 9 in New York.
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