Call it hero-worshipping or failure to move on, the BCCI Selection Committee has played a huge gamble with two of the biggest stars of Indian and world cricket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play another T20 World Cup after failing to guide India Cricket Team to a title in the last two T20 WCs. With Ro-Ko, selectors have taken a leap of faith, even though it forced them to put Rinku Singh in the reserves of India squad for the T20 World Cup. But be warned, another failure in the USA & West Indies will be the leap of death.
It’s fortunate for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, unfortunate for Rinku Singh, who had sealed the spot for a finisher in India’s T20I line-up.
India Squad for Zimbabwe
Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana
Leap of faith or death?
There is no doubt that both Kohli and Rohit can destroy opponents. They have proven that time and again. But things have not been the same with growing age in the last few years.
Rohit Sharma has averaged 30.00 in the last three years with just 7 half-centuries and a century in the last 40 innings. He strikes well in the powerplay but it’s not extra-ordinary. Rohit has a strike rate of 142.67.
As for Virat Kohli, he has a strike rate problem. Kohli has a strike rate of 135.07. Against spinners, it drops down drastically to 114.79 in the middle overs.
However, Rohit Sharma’s ability to provide a fast start and Kohli’s excellence in chasing down targets by batting deep makes them invaluable. Kohli’s knock against Pakistan at MCG in the 2022 T20 World Cup is just an example. He needs to dictate terms in the middle overs, especially on slow West Indies pitches. Otherwise, India will end up on the losing side once again.
“The term is wrong. There is no such thing as an anchor in T20s. Virat needs to dictate the terms. He’s got many gears. He needs to work through those. He’s smart enough and experienced enough to adjust to 11 an over or 9 an over required rate,” former Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said on Star Sports.
Were there alternatives?
The IPL keeps churning out talented stars. And before the BCCI made a U-turn on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, bringing them back for India vs Afghanistan series, there were plenty of options. For starters, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal became the regular T20I openers. Abhishek Sharma too was an option to try out while Ruturaj Gaikwad was always a backup. Ishan Kishan also had his chance.
What forced the selectors’ hands to bring back Ro-Ko was the lack of consistency by the youngsters. Gill, despite scoring a century, could never settle in T20Is and the poor T20I form of Ishan and Ruturaj made it a tough call.
However, the selectors needed a leap of faith with the youngsters. Sanju Samson could have made No 3 spot his own had he been backed. However, BCCI kept the slot intact for Virat Kohli to return.
Last chance saloon
With the squad out and BCCI going back to Ro-Ko, the line-up looks similar to T20 World Cup 2022. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal has replaced KL Rahul. Otherwise, it’s the same Top 6 that would try once again.
But consider this as the star duo’s last chance. If India fail to land T20 World Cup 2024 title, questions will be raised again. And they could only remain for ODIs and Tests with India set to play ICC Champions Trophy and still in the race for another ICC WTC Final in 2025.
