Image Credit- PTI
It is said that Virat Kohli, who scored the most runs
in the 2023 ODI World Cup, is no longer India’s first pick for the T20I XI. The
talk has rapidly switched from ODIs to T20Is, with the T20 World Cup scheduled
for June 2024. Following a five-hour meeting in New Delhi with captain Rohit
Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee,
top BCCI officials formulated a plan for the forthcoming major tournament in
the West Indies and the USA. India will play just six Twenty20 Internationals
(T20Is) before deciding on their World Cup team: three T20Is away from home
against Afghanistan and three in South Africa.
The white-ball leg of the South Africa trip has been
requested to be skipped by Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit, and Kohli. Now, in order to
assess the team at full strength, the selectors will only have three Twenty20
Internationals against Afghanistan. A report in Dainik Jagran claims that while
Rohit and Bumrah are guaranteed spots in the T20 World Cup squad, Kohli’s
is not.
The meeting’s selectors, together with BCCI officials
secretary Jay Shah, vice president Rajeev Shukla, and treasurer Ashish Shelar,
told Rohit that they wanted him to captain the Indian team in the T20 World
Cup. Since the Australia-hosted T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal, neither Rohit nor
Kohli have participated in this format. However, the selectors want Rohit to
get one last chance at an ICC event following the sort of performance he put in
at the top of the order during the ODI World Cup at home—597 runs with a strike
rate of 125.
Jagran was informed by a BCCI representative in
attendance at the meeting that the board and selectors are looking for a player
who can start playing attacking cricket right away. Right present, Ishan Kishan
seems to be the favourite to take the No. 3 position. During the home series
against Australia, the left-hander played a few solid innings at that position
in the batting order.
If Kohli has a strong IPL 2024, he will undoubtedly be
taken into consideration. Kohli is the world’s top run scorer in Twenty20
Internationals and the only player with more than 1000 international runs in
the format at an average of over 50. However, according to the official, Kohli
usually opens for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and as of right now, all
opening positions in the Indian T20I team are taken.
The players who occupy the remaining spots in the
batting order, if Kishan is considered the number three, are Suryakumar Yadav,
Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. As a result, Kohli, who is
regarded as India’s best white-ball cricket player of the past 20 years, will
not be travelling.
However, the person stated that Kohli’s plans for the
T20Is will be discussed with the selectors and other top board members shortly.
If Kohli personally notifies the BCCI that he is not interested in playing the
shortest format, then perhaps there won’t be any problems.