Discussions are ongoing about whether senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue playing T20Is after the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn’t issued any official statement. However, a PTI report suggests that Rohit and Virat will shift focus to only ODIs and Tests as there will be nine WTC Tests from September 2024 to January 2025. India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah will likely be excluded from the T20I team and focus on red-ball cricket.
A BCCI source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PTI that the board would likely include younger players. Many of these players delivered impressive performances in IPL 2024.
“Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Dayal are all at the camp. Some will go to Zimbabwe T20Is,” the source said.
Another notable name that has come up is Shreyas Iyer. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, who led his team to victory this year, is not currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), where most other younger players are present.
“However, there is every possibility that Shreyas will travel for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka. The last ODI that India played was in South Africa and he scored a half-century (52). He had 500 plus runs (530) in World Cup and averages just around 50. Can you drop him?” the source added.
Other IPL stars like Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed are also likely to travel to Zimbabwe. Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team as captain and vice-captain, respectively, in case they are not rested, the report added.
Shreyas Iyer’s comeback to the Indian team may be connected to Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s mentor. Multiple reports indicate that Gambhir is all set to replace Rahul Dravid as India’s Head Coach. GG guided KKR to an IPL victory after 10 years.
Iyer and Ishan Kishan were dropped from BCCI’s central contracts due to their alleged unwillingness to play in the Ranji Trophy. However, Iyer claimed his lower back issue had kept him out. He eventually did play in the Ranji Trophy final.
Gautam Gambhir effect?
It was earlier reported that Gambhir had requested full control of the team and separate squads for white-ball and red-ball cricket. The BCCI has reportedly agreed to these demands.
(With PTI inputs)
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Published: 19 Jun 2024, 11:49 AM IST