Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta is surprised to note the selection of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20I squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan. The cricketer-turned-commentator thought India had moved on from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the T20I format.
Both the veterans last played a T20I for the national team in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 against England. While Kohli has scored 4008 runs in 115 T20I matches at an average of 52.74, Rohit has amassed 3853 runs in 148 matches at an average of 30.82.
Dasgupta said he doesn’t find any direction here for India as the selectors have gone back to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma despite them not playing in the T20I format in the last 14 months.
“I was slightly surprised because I thought the team had moved on from Rohit and Kohli. The main criticism was the lack of intent from the senior players in the last T20 World Cup. But then again, you need to keep in mind the kind of tracks you are expecting in the West Indies – are you expecting a 180 or 200-run wicket to 160-ish kind of tracks? To be very honest, I do not find any direction here for India in the last one year. If they had to go back to Kohli and Rohit…given the squads we had in the last one year, it is like going back to square one,” said Dasgupta on Star Sports.
Dasgupta added Indian playing XI will now be the same which lost to England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022.
“If you look at the team India had against England (in 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal) and the one against Australia recently, Hardik, Jadeja and Bumrah and Siraj will be back, but the middle-order will remain the same. Kohli will play at No. 3, Surya at 4, Hardik at 5, Jitesh or Samson at 6, then Jadeja and the rest follow. So there won’t be any difference in that middle-order finisher role,” added Dasgupta.
The renowned commentator feels someone like Rinku Singh will have to miss out despite delivering consistent performances. The left-hander has scored 262 runs in 12 T20I matches at an average of 65.5.
“Someone like Rinku Singh will miss out. You have to pick one between Jitesh and Samson. I am talking about the T20 World Cup going forward. Rinku and Yashasvi had both impressed a lot, especially the former, because he plays a very specific and unique role and there aren’t much competitors for that spot as well,” said Dasgupta.
“You will get plenty of top-order batters, but there are rarely batters who can perform at No. 7 or 8. Rinku and Tilak might play against Afghanistan, but going forward, when Hardik and Surya will be available, I feel Rinku and Tilak will both miss out,” he added.
The first T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played at Mohali on 11th January.
