'Thought Team Has Moved On' Ex-India Star On Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's T20I Return

Former Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Deep Dasgupta said that he was a 'little surprised' at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's return for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. Rohit and Virat last played a T20I for India back in November 2022 when they faced England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals. Since then, they have prioritised the longer formats but their return for the Afghanistan series has provided a sneak peek into the team management's possible plans for the T20 World Cup 2024.

In a recent interaction, Dasgupta said that he though t the team has moved on in the T20 format and pointed out that the main criticism against the veteran batters was their 'lack of intent'.

"I thought that the team has moved on in the T20I format. I am a little surprised. But the way that Rohit Sharma has played in the 50 over World Cup was great. The main criticism with the senior India players was the lack of intent in the T20 format," Dasgupta told Star Sports.

However, the former cricketer was quick to point out that the pitches in West Indies may end up helping spinners during the T20 World Cup 2024. In that situation, the experience of a batter like Kohli can be crucial in negotiating the sluggish conditions.

"Obviously we saw that with Rohit and with Virat we have to keep in mind what will be the pitches that we might get in West Indies. Are we expecting 180-200 pitches or something around 160s," he added.

India's Squad for 3 T20Is against Afghanistan:Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.