Team India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey revealed why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not participating in the bilateral T20Is. He mentioned that the youth are being given opportunities to understand the team’s areas of adaptability.
India has been fielding a completely different team since the T20 World Cup 2022. He has been all about youngsters and there has been no sign of seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The young players have grabbed opportunities with both hands.
With the 2024 T20 World Cup just around the corner, there has been a lot of speculation about what the Indian team will be for the event. There have also been a lot of questions about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s participation in next year’s T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not part of the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. And this has led to more speculations about his availability for the T20 World Cup 2024. But bowling coach Para Mhambrey has clarified a lot of things.
Speaking to PTI, Paras Mhambrey highlighted the importance of the T20I bilaterals and mentioned that they are testing the youngsters. Talking about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, she said that the duo is very specific in their work. He elaborated:
“In no way does it mean that bilateral T20Is are not important. All I’m saying is that there is a balance that every player must maintain. It also depends on who we are talking to. “Players like Rohit and Virat look at very specific areas in their T20 games, be it IPL or India.”
“One would like to observe the younger players during bilateral matches and examine and understand areas of their adaptability – game awareness, pressure situations, how they adapt to the various situations that come with the Indian jersey.”
I would never say that people don’t want to play red ball cricket – Paras Mhambrey
Paras Mhambrey also added that they would provide opportunities to youngsters even in Test cricket. Elaborating on the same, he said:
“I would never say that people don’t want to play red-ball cricket. Even now, if you ask any aspiring bowler or fast spinner which format he wants to excel in, he will always choose Test cricket first.
“Yes, obviously there will be some players who will choose the white ball format. They probably would have played all the formats and then decided that their game and skills were better suited to the white ball format. “Now it will be a very individual call and no one will be able to do anything about it.”
The first T20I will be played between India and South Africa Sunday December 10 in Kingsmead, Durban
