Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play again in the Twenty20 Internationals against Afghanistan; the skipper for the Twenty20 World Cup will be chosen later

Due to injury, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav will not play in the series, therefore the selectors will choose a full-strength team on Thursday.

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had not played for India in a T20 international since more than a year ago, returned to the shorter format for the three-match series against Afghanistan, increasing their prospects of participating in the next T20 World Cup in June. The last time Rohit and Virat played in the shortest format was during India’s quarterfinal loss in the T20 World Cup in Australia in November 2022.

Last week, this daily claimed that both senior batsmen had disclosed their availability to the selectors. After the previous T20 World Cup, all-rounder Hardik Pandya took over as captain, but Rohit has now been selected in that position. However, the selectors chose Rohit instead of Hardik because of his injury.

It remains to be seen, though, if Rohit will keep leading until Hardik—who has struggled with injuries—is well. Suryakumar Yadav, the top-ranked T20 batsman, was also sidelined by injury. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the top order batsman, was likewise not available for selection due to a fractured finger.

Suryakumar had led the team in both the three games played in South Africa in December and the five-match series played at home against Australia while Hardik was away.Ajit Agarkar, the head selector, visited South Africa during the Test series before choosing the squad.

The IPL results will be crucial in determining the team selected for the June T20 World Cup, which will be held in the United States and the West Indies, according to a source. Since leading the team to the Champions Trophy championship in 2013, MS Dhoni has not led India to an ICC trophy.

It was difficult for the selectors to overlook Sharma’s form because of his aggressiveness at the top of the order during the 50-over World Cup, which provided the squad flying starts. During the World Cup at home, Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI hundreds scored. He has also been in exceptional form in ODIs. Kohli’s T20 strike rate is 137.96, while Rohit’s is 129.24.

Rohit Sharma stated, “It gives you the motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize,” following India’s defeat by Australia in the 50-over World Cup.

The selection committee has decided to rest pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, who were instrumental in shaping India’s bowling lineup during the recently ended South Africa series, as this daily has reported. The selection committee felt that they should have a vacation before returning home for the five-match Test series against England.

Not listed was Deepak Chahar, who withdrew from the matches against South Africa due to a personal issue.Additionally, spin bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who traveled with India to South Africa, has been rested by the selection committee. Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh make up the Indian pace battery. Shivam Dube of Mumbai was chosen by the selectors since Pandya is still recovering from his injury.

Two more all-rounders on the team are Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. In addition to these two, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are in the spin department. Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson will compete for the position of wicketkeeper.

While Samson hasn’t participated in a T20 match for India since the series against Ireland in August, when India selected a second string squad, wicketkeeper Sharma just participated in the T20I series against Australia and South Africa and is still starting.Ishan Kishan withdrew from the South Africa series for “personal reasons,” thus it’s unclear why he was left off the roster for this one. In Paarl, Samson got his first-ever ODI century against South Africa.

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