There was a meeting between BCCI officials, coach Rahul Dravid, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma (online) in Delhi in November, right after the ODI World Cup last year. Most of the people in that meeting agreed that Virat Kohli is not a natural contender for a place in the team in the T20 World Cup to be held in America and West Indies in 2024.
Apart from Rohit, Virat did not play any T20 match from the 2022 T20 World Cup till the 2023 ODI World Cup. This year, just before the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, Virat expressed his desire to play in this format, not only this, he also made himself available for the T20 World Cup, after which the team management was in a dilemma.
Some top BCCI officials were also reluctant to create controversy by dropping Virat, especially in the election season. Considering Virat kohli stature and name, he had given signals to Rohit, Dravid and Ajit Agarkar. After this, Virat achieved the Orange Cap by scoring more than 350 runs including a century in the seven matches of the ongoing IPL.
According to sources, some time ago Virat had sought clarity from the team management on his playing in the T20 World Cup. According to the information, the team management has also given them clarity on this.
Last week, at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, Dravid, Agarkar and Rohit discussed the team going to the World Cup to be held in June. Since Virat plays as an opener in IPL, there was talk about fielding Rohit and Virat as openers in the World Cup.
Yashasvi Jaiswal will be removed from the final-11. If Rohit-Virat will open, then there was a discussion on who among Yashasvi and Shubman Gill should be taken as alternative opener. When the meeting took place, Gill had the upper hand based on his IPL performance till then.
Yashasvi had scored more than 700 runs including two double centuries in the Test series against England. There was also discussion in the meeting about Assam's young all-rounder Riyan Parag, who performed brilliantly in the IPL. If he maintains his performance in the next few matches, he can also get a place in the 15-member team and catch a flight to America.
In the meeting, the name of Delhi's young fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who has become a headache for the batsmen with his pace, was also discussed, but his injury went against him. The selectors believe that taking Mayank could be a risky decision.
In the meeting, it was made clear to Hardik Pandya that if he wants to make a place in the team, he will have to perform amazingly with his bowling in the remaining IPL matches. The selectors believe that Pandya will return to the team only if he continues to bowl well. Pandya has not bowled consistently in the IPL and has bowled only in four of the six matches.
Pandya's economy has been 12 and he has taken only three wickets. He has not been able to impress with the bat either and has been able to score only 131 runs in six matches. The selectors, who are keeping an eye on all the players in the IPL, have shown interest in left-handed all-rounder Shivam Dubey in place of Hardik as a fast bowling all-rounder.
Shivam Dubey's power-hitting against fast bowlers gives strength to the middle order, but the biggest problem with him is that CSK has used him more as an impact player, due to which he has not got a chance to bowl. In such a situation, if he is selected then how effective he will be in bowling is a matter of some concern.
It is known that Hardik has been made the captain of Mumbai Indians by replacing Rohit while Rohit is the captain of the Indian T-20 team. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had named Rohit as the captain and Hardik as the vice-captain during the five-match Test series against England in Rajkot. In such a situation, it will not be easy for Rohit to remove Hardik on the basis of performance.
There will be a selectors' meeting at the end of April in which the 15-member Indian team will be selected. Not only this, five additional players will also be included in it, who will become substitutes in case of injury to the players because sending alternative players immediately to America and West Indies is not an easy task.
Also Read: Who is the wicketkeeper of Team India for T20 World Cup 2024
Give Your Feedback