India vs Afghanistan: Rohit, Kohli's return and other key takeaways from Men in Blue's T20I squad announcement

Team India ended the suspense surrounding their team for the T20I series against Afghanistan on Sunday, announcing the squad four days before the first match gets underway at Mohali’s IS Bindra PCA Stadium. Veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the T20I fold after more than a year, a crucial decision for the Men in Blue in the build-up to this year’s T20 World Cup in June, was the key takeaway from the squad announcement. Additionally, the trio of Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad missed out due to injuries , while a number of either senior players were rested, or in some cases overlooked. Here are some of the key points from BCCI’s announcement on Sunday evening: Rohit and Kohli’s return The biggest development ahead of what will be India’s final bilateral T20I series before this year’s T20 World Cup is that of Rohit and Kohli finally being called back into the shortest format. The pair had last represented the Men in Blue in the shortest format during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where Rohit led the team to the semi-finals before they suffered a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of eventual winners England. [caption id=“attachment_13586642” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had last represented India in the shortest format in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Reuters[/caption] Kohli had produced one of the finest T20I knocks in living memory during the group stage match against Pakistan in Melbourne, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat. In the larger scheme of things, however, that knock was seen as something of an exception as both Rohit and Kohli had been facing plenty of flak for their inability to take the attack to the opposition, especially during the crucial powerplay overs. Such issues were evident during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE as well, and the two decided to step away from T20Is after November 2022, their only exposure to 20-over cricket coming in the Indian Premier League. Read | Rohit and Kohli’s inclusion for IND-AFG T20Is leaves netizens divided For the longest time, it appeared as if Rohit and Kohli’s days representing India in the shortest format were behind them. The way the two performed in the recent ODI World Cup, however, would have had the team management interested in giving them one last shot at the showpiece T20I event. Rohit’s leadership skills also stood out, and the BCCI would have hoped for him to carry that over to the T20 World Cup. Pandya and SKY miss out due to injury Meanwhile, the trio of Pandya, Surya and Gaikwad will miss the upcoming series due to injuries suffered in recent assignments. Pandya has been out of action since injuring his ankle during India’s group stage-meeting with Bangladesh in the World Cup, while SKY suffered a similar injury while leading the Men in Blue in the third T20I against South Africa, where he also scored a match-winning century — the fourth of his career. Pandya and Surya have shared burden of captaincy since Rohit’s decision to step away in late 2022, with the former having shouldered the responsibility for a majority of the games until his injury. SKY, too, did a decent job leading the team, masterminding a 4-1 series victory over Australia and drawing the series in South Africa 1-1. Both are expected to return to action in the IPL. Samson gets rewarded Meanwhile, Sanju Samson was included as the wicketkeeper-batter alongside Jitesh Sharma and might just get an opportunity in one of the games even if he doesn’t make it to the XI right away. Samson had last featured in a T20I during the tour of Ireland where he was part of a second-string side led by the returning Jasprit Bumrah. [caption id=“attachment_13533582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sanju Samson scored his maiden international century during the third ODI against South Africa on Thursday. Reuters[/caption] However, it was his performances in the ODI series in South Africa, where he struck a match-winning century in the series-decider in Paarl, that appears to have improved his fortunes in the shortest format as well. His maiden international century appears to have impressed the selectors as well as the team management, who have offered Samson a chance to audition for the T20 World Cup squad that is still some time away from getting announced. Chahal remains on the sidelines Yuzvendra Chahal, meanwhile, remains sidelined from India’s T20I plans and unless he’s able to conjure up a miracle in domestic cricket or the IPL that takes place right before the T20 World Cup, he may very well end up missing another ICC event. The Men in Blue, have instead, stuck to Lucknow Super Giants’ Ravi Bishnoi as their go-to option for leg spin and as one of the two frontline spin options alongside Kuldeep Yadav. Bishnoi was the standout performer in the five-T20I series against Australia after the World Cup, collecting nine wickets at an average of 18.22, while Kuldeep had been in outstanding form himself throughout 2023. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and offie Washington Sundar are the other spin options, though they’re included in the all-rounders category. Iyer, Rahul and Kishan not in the mix Ravindra Jadeja’s name wasn’t included in the spin department either but that might just be a case of the team management giving the senior all-rounder a break before the five-Test series against England that gets underway on 25 January. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, has taken a breather to take care of his mental health at the moment, but remains in the mix regardless. [caption id=“attachment_13461572” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Shreyas Iyer scored a 36-ball fifty in the fifth T20I between India and Australia in Bengaluru, batting at the No 3 spot. AP[/caption] The same, however, cannot be said with utmost certainty of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, especially after Rohit and Kohli’s return to the T20I fold. Iyer had struck a gritty 37-ball 53 in a low-scoring fifth T20I against Australia in Bengaluru, which certainly is indicative of a batter who could come in handy at a spot from No. 3 to 5. However, the rise of Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma combined with the fact that SKY is indispensable in the format makes it difficult for the team management to accommodate him. Like Rohit and Kohli, Rahul’s last T20I appearance was in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final. Unlike his fellow seniors however, his chances of making a dramatic return in the format appear slim for now.