Harbhajan Singh believes national selectors should discuss with senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before making a final call on his T20I future. Harbhajan further believes that the Indian team management should continue to support their youngsters in the lead up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
He mentioned how the Suryakumar-led team impressed with their performances in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against Australia. India won the series 4-1 dominating in all aspects against the ODI world champions.
In an interview with Sports Tak, Harbhajan said: “Suryakumar Yadav’s team played exceptionally well in the last few matches. I think now we need to think about the future. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big names; “There should be a discussion with them.”
“If we support our youngsters now, we will be able to prepare them for the T20 World Cup. Having said that, it is important to talk to Virat and Rohit and know what they think about their T20 future. The BCCI president and the selectors will have to do it.”
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not appeared in T20Is since the T20 World Cup in 2022
Notably, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not played T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Virat Kohli was the leading run-scorer in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, amassing 296 runs in six outings. The Ro-Ko duo will not feature in the upcoming T20I and ODI series against South Africa as they have requested a break from the white-ball portion of the tour.
The two will join the team in South Africa during the two-match Test series in which Rohit Sharma will lead the team. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian team in the T20Is and KL Rahul will lead the ODIs in the absence of Rohit Sharma. This is the first time India will have three different captains on a single tour.
However, it is high time for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to decide their future in T20Is as the T20 World Cup is not far away. The team needs a proper composition for the T20 World Cup and the sooner Rohit and Kohli decide their future for the shortest format, the better it will be for the Indian team.
