Former India all-rounder bats for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s selection for upcoming T20I World Cup

T20 cricket is hotter than ever, and everyone's excited for the big T20 World Cup in 2024! It's the most popular way to play cricket right now, and India's right in the heart of it all. They have the Indian Premier League, the coolest T20 tournament around, where all the best players from different countries come to play every year. 

India’s T20 World Cup drought

But when it comes to lifting the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy, India hasn't been able to do that since the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup where under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India lifted the coveted trophy for the first and last time. 

In the cricketing fraternity, discussions are rife about the role of seasoned pros Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in India's campaign and whether they should feature in the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma find themselves in a unique position, having not played a 20-over international since India's 10-wicket defeat to England in the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

Irfan Pathan opines on the selection of Rohit and Kohli

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has a different perspective towards it and he emphasizes the importance of including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the squad. He believes that the experience of players like Kohli and Rohit will be required in handling unknown pitches in the West Indies and the USA. 

While Virat's consistent run in all three formats in the recent past makes a case for itself, Pathan believes that Rohit Sharma's transformation and consistent run-scoring in One Day Cricket in the recently concluded ODI World Cup and experience is enough to have him in the T20I squad.

Speaking on a Star Sports show Irfan Pathan said, "I would like to see Virat on the pitch because when we talk about two years back, definitely he was not in his best form. But the last IPL and T20 were one of the most amazing tournaments for him. Also, when you are playing in countries like West Indies and the USA, there are quite a few unknown pitches, and here you will need experienced players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both on and off the field," Pathan told Star Sports.

He further added, "The playing of both the players also depends upon team management and their fitness, but I would love seeing both of them on the field, especially when Rohit has also changed his form and has been making a lot of runs in One Day Cricket.”