Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, missed the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka with Hardik Pandya being named as the skipper. This gave rise to speculation that going forward Rohit would only captain the Indian team in ODIs and Tests, in what seemed to be a transitional phase for Indian cricket. However, Rohit has now cleared the air about his T20 International future ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka starting on Tuesday. He has said that he “hasn’t decided to quit” on the format.
During the press conference before the match, Rohit Sharma said, ‘We have only six T20s, three are over. So we will manage, you know, take care of those boys till the IPL. Then we will see what happens after IPL. But of course I have not decided to give up the format. At this point I think it has been made clear in the past that this is a 50-over World Cup year for us.
Read also: Saba Karim said that India does not need Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in T20
H further added, “And it is not possible for some players to play in all formats. If you look at the schedule, there were back-to-back matches, so we decided to look at the workload of some players, who we can make sure.” Wanted to do is get enough break time and manage that. I definitely fall into that (category) as well.”
Rohit Sharma also revealed the reason behind Jasprit Bumrah’s exclusion from the ODI series on the eve of the first ODI. He said, ‘Jasprit Bumrah felt stiffness while bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Academy.’
The Indian skipper said that Shubman Gill will be his opening partner in the series opener against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. He said, ‘Unfortunately we will not be able to play the role of Ishaan Kishan. We have to show Gill the right path.”
The return of old players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in ODIs will boost the morale of the hosts. India have a packed ODI calendar – 15 games excluding the Asia Cup – in the 10-month window in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup in October-November.
Read also: Sunil Gavaskar feels yo-yo test is not the right yardstick for cricketers
However, the key will be to not only get the right balance but also manage the workload between the IPL and the much-anticipated 4-match Test series against Australia. But another injury scare of Bumrah will put a huge dent in the plans of the team management. There is also a lot of problem in choosing the top five batsmen.
