With the match against Afghanistan serving as India’s last assignment before the ICC T20 World Cup in June, there are many unanswered issues around the team announcement.

The long wait over Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s T20I future was ended on Sunday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as the two legends were named in the 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which starts in Mohali on January 11. The return of the experienced stalwarts to the format after a 14-month hiatus virtually guarantees their place in the 2024 T20 World Cup. With the match serving as India’s last assignment before the June ICC event, there are a lot of unanswered issues around the team announcement.

Are Rohit and Kohli expected to return for the T20 World Cup?

Since the team’s semifinal loss to England in the T20 World Cup in November 2022, Kohli and Rohit have not played a T20I match for India. Instead, they have prioritised the ODI format with the 50-over World Cup in 2023, while they continue to play Test cricket as they aim to lead the team to a third World Test Championship final. After missing the Australia series at home and the away match in South Africa following the ODI tournament, there was a lot of talk about whether they would play in the T20 World Cup. However, their selection, which came after chief selector Ajit Agarkar flew to Cape Town around the second Test against the Proteas, means that they are back in the mix for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and the USA between June 1 and 29.

Is Shivam Dube considered a backup for Hardik Pandya?

A lack of balance was one of the reasons India lost two of their last three ICC trophies. If India’s management was supposed to take a lesson from the devastating loss in the ODI World Cup final, they failed to do so by passing up the chance to look into a backup plan for the injury-prone Hardik Pandya, who will miss a third straight T20I series while he recovers from an ankle twist he suffered in October.

While skipper Suryakumar Yadav was happy with just five bowling options, Shivam Dube was the only member of the squad to not make an appearance in the five-match Australia series played at home in November. Later, Suryakumar, who will miss the Afghanistan matches due to an injury, was discarded by Dube for the South Africa tour, when he once again declined to consider a sixth bowling option.

Recalled for the three-match series against Afghanistan is the Mumbai all-rounder. As a middle-order batsman for the Chennai Super Kings, he had an amazing IPL 2023 season. Later, he had some useful cameos as Syed Mushtaq Ali, but his bowling position has remained restricted.

Sanju Samson’s final shot

Based on the team selections for the match against Australia and South Africa, it appears that Samson was not part of the plans for the T20 World Cup. But after a spectacular century in the ODI series against South Africa last month—his first in international cricket—the wicketkeeper-batter has managed to force his way into the World Cup preparations. However, during the Australia series, Samson will come up against Jitesh Sharma, who has been in outstanding form lower down the order, at No. 6 for India.

Where are Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul?

Rahul first declared his intention to play middle-order wicketkeeper-batter for India in all formats only a month ago. In the recently finished series against South Africa, he showed his ability to pull it off in both Tests and ODIs. However, Rahul was unable to carve out a position for himself in T20Is. Similar to Rohit and Kohli, Rahul participated in his final Twenty20 International match at the 2022 World Cup semifinal; however, following the ODI World Cup in November, he has already missed three straight series in the shorter format.

Currently, India has players like young Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh to manage the middle-order affairs, but Rahul will need to demonstrate his strength as a destructive batter down the order as the selectors expect to see Hardik fit for the World Cup. Rahul will be crucial to the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2024 season. He is expected to bat in the middle order.

Ishan Kishan, the lone hitter in the T20I lineup who possesses the flexibility element, will be absent from the series. To attend to his mental health, he had already pulled out of the Test series against South Africa.

No plans include Yuzvendra Chahal for the T20 World Cup.

In terms of the IPL statistical show, Chahal has dominated the shortest format, but in T20Is for India, he hasn’t had much luck. He was cut from the World Cup squad in 2021, missed out on playing in the competition in 2022, and as things stand, he won’t be there in 2024. Having participated in all five games during the West Indies tour, which was preceded by an appearance in the match against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in January, the leg-spinner appeared to be a part of the T20 World Cup preparations even in 2023. However, it appears that Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi are the preferred specialist alternatives for the June World Cup by the selectors. Chahal would like to have a strong IPL season, just like Rahul, to give himself a remote chance of making the team.

Jasprit Bumrah will not play T20Is before the World Cup.

Although Bumrah has only played in two T20 World Cup matches in the last 15 months—both during the August tour of Ireland—he is unquestionably qualified for the tournament. In an attempt to control his workload ahead of the vital five-Test series against England, he was rested following the ODI World Cup and missed the Australia and South Africa series. Now, he has been ruled out of the match against Afghanistan.

SOURCE: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/virat-kohli-rohit-sharma-back-t20-world-cup-plans-where-is-kl-rahul-takeaways-india-t20i-squad-afghanistan-series-101704641368337.html