Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli return as India unveil squad for Afghanistan T20Is

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are to make a return to T20Is after more than a year, with the two Indian stalwarts getting included in India’s squad for the Afghanistan T20I series that was announced on Sunday. Rohit returns to the side as captain, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya — who had been leading the Men in Blue in the shortest format in his absence — missing out on the upcoming series along with Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Additionally, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested for the series, with the senior pacers getting a breather before the marquee Test series against England that gets underway later this month. Rohit had briefly served as India’s captain in all three formats in 2022, succeeding Kohli in the role, and led the Men in Blue to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in Australia before they suffered a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of eventual champions England. The two senior batters had come under scrutiny for their relatively ordinary T20I performances, especially their inability to get off to quick starts, and opted to stay away from T20Is while focusing on the five-day and 50-over formats. Read | Rohit and Kohli's inclusion for IND-AFG T20Is leaves netizens divided Both Kohli and Rohit, however, had been in brilliant form in the recent ICC World Cup, scoring 765 (all-time record) and 597 runs respectively to occupy the top two spots on the batting chart. Rohit, additionally, captained India to 10 consecutive wins during the group stage as well as in the semi-final before the Men in Blue suffered a heart-breaking six-wicket defeat in the final in Ahmedabad on 19 November. Pandya, who has led India in T20Is for the most part since November 2022, has been out of action since suffering an ankle injury India’s group-stage match against Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup. Also joining the injury list are Surya — who captained in the recent T20I assignments against Australia and South Africa — and Gaikwad. Like Pandya, SKY injured his ankle during the third T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg, and the two are expected to return to action in the Indian Premier League, where they will be representing the Mumbai Indians. Gaikwad, on the other hand, suffered a finger injury that might force him to miss the early part of the five-Test series against England.

What do you all make of this power-packed T20I squad set to face Afghanistan? 😎#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/pY2cUPdpHy

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 7, 2024

Among the interesting inclusions in the squad is wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who earned a call-up to the T20I squad after impressing in the ODI series in South Africa, where he starred in India’s series-clinching victory at Paarl with a century. Samson had last represented India in the shortest format in the tour of Ireland in August, and will get an opportunity to audition for a place in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup that takes place in the Caribbean and the USA later this year. The squad, additionally, made no mention of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who remains sidelined from the Indian team. The selectors, instead, went leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as their two frontline spin options with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar the two spin-bowling all-rounders. As for the pace department, either Mukesh Kumar or Avesh Khan are expected to partner left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh with Bumrah and Siraj having been rested for the series. Additionally, Mumbai and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shivam Dube, who was part of the gold-winning squad at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has been included in the as the only seam-bowling all-rounder. India squad for Afghanistan T20Is: Rohit Sharma (c), 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