Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has said that the BCCI selection committee shouldn’t ignore veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their planning for the T20 World Cup 2024 which will be played in West Indies and USA.
Recently, reports stated that Rohit Sharma had told the selectors that he is fine not playing in T20Is, but Gambhir feels that not only should Rohit Sharma be picked in the Indian T20 World Cup squad, but he should continue as captain of the side.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not played any T20I for India since the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. With focus on the 50-over World Cup, both were kept away from the shortest format as Hardik Pandya was given the captaincy for the T20Is.
Rohit led India to the final of the recently concluded ODI World Cup on the back of a record 10 victories on the trot. His selfless leadership was standout in India’s heartbreaking final loss to Australia.
Hardik Pandya has been India’s unofficial T20I captain for about a year now and as things have panned thus far, he might even captain the side in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Gautam Gambhir said there is no doubt about the fact that both Rohit and Kohli should be picked for the T20 World Cup and if they are, Rohit should be the captain and not Hardik.
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"They both need to get picked, both should be picked. More importantly, I want to see Rohit Sharma as captain in the T20 World Cup. Yes, Hardik has been captaining in T20Is but I would still want to see Rohit as captain in the World Cup. Don't pick Rohit Sharma only as a batter. Rohit is a phenomenal leader, he has proved that with his leadership and batting in this ODI World Cup. If you are picking Rohit, which you should then he should be selected as a captain who can bat. And Virat also should be an automatic choice," Gambhir told Sportskeeda.
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram also had similar thoughts about the two legends of Indian cricket.
"There are barely six months to go for the T20 World Cup. I will pick both Rohit and Kohli. They are the main players for the team. You need a bit of experience even in T20s, can't build a team with only youngsters," he said.
India is currently prepping for the five-T20I series against Australia under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav.
