Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will make the much-awaited return to the T20I format in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Rohit, along with veteran batter Virat Kohli, was added to the 16-man squad by Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.

The duo had last played for India in the T20I format in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 against England, which India lost at Adelaide. Since then, Hardik Pandya had been leading the side in the shortest version of the game whereas Suryakumar Yadav recently led the team against Australia and South Africa.

Ergo, there were doubts about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s participation in the T20 World Cup 2024 but their recent selection has indicated that the duo are in the reckoning for T20I showpiece.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has won 39 out of the 52 T20I matches he has led in. Rohit needs another three victories to level MS Dhoni’s record of 42 wins as a T20I captain. Thus, if India clean sweeps Afghanistan in the upcoming three-match T20I series, Rohit will match Dhoni’s record.

Rohit has the highest win percentage in T20I format for any Indian captain at 76.74. Former skipper Virat Kohli won 30 out of the 50 matches he led in.

MOST WINS AS T20I CAPTAIN

Asghar Afghan (Afghanistan) – 42

MS Dhoni (India) – 42

Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 42

Eoin Morgan (England) – 42

Brian Masaba (Uganda) – 42

Aaron Finch (Australia) – 40

Rohit Sharma (India) – 39

The first T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played at Mohali on 11th January.

India’s T20I squad for series vs Afghanistan

Rohit Sharma (capt), 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