Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma still have a place in T20I cricket: Sourav Ganguly

Published at :July 9, 2023 at 7:51 PM

Modified at :July 9, 2023 at 7:51 PM

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma last played a T20I for India in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue playing T20Is for India in the coming time, saying that the veterans still have a lot to give to the team when it comes to experience.

Both the batters have not played for India in the shortest format of the game since the T20 World Cup in Australia last year and seemingly the BCCI selectors have moved on from them, blooding in youngsters in the side and handing over the captaincy to Hardik Pandya, who has done well thus far.

Even in the latest Indian squad announced for the West Indies tour, Rohit Sharma will captain the side in Tests and ODIs, with Virat Kohli also being named for both formats; but Hardik Pandya will take over in the T20Is, with both the batters and veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being rested from the format, along with pacer Mohammed Siraj.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, who had an outstanding season in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), have been given a chance.

“Pick your best players”- Sourav Ganguly urges BCCI to play Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20Is

When asked for his opinion on the matter, former BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly said that the best players, regardless of their reputation, should be selected for the team. He believes that Kohli and Rohit can both still play in the T20I scenario.

"Pick your best players, it doesn’t matter who they are. In my opinion, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma still have a place in T20I cricket and I cannot see why a Kohli or a Rohit cannot play T20I cricket. Kohli was in great form in the IPL, and both have place in T20 cricket, if you ask me," Ganguly told Revsportz.

It's interesting that neither the board nor the players have made any official statements regarding their T20I future. While Rohit fell short of expectations, Kohli performed admirably and finished the IPL season as the fourth-highest run scorer (639 runs in 14 games).