"Can't decide their future based on the IPL to a certain extent" - Deep Dasgupta on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's participation in 2024 T20 World Cup

Former Indian wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta feels Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's performances in the IPL cannot be used as a parameter to decide their participation in the T20 World Cup in June.

Kohli and Rohit made a return to the Indian T20I squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan, starting on January 11. As the series will be the final T20I games before the showpiece event, IPL form will weigh heavily for the World Cup squad selection.

Yet, in a conversation with Star Sports, Dasgupta believes Kohli and Rohit's selection will not hinge as much on IPL performances.

"It's going to be important, but for someone like Virat and Rohit you can't decide their future based on the IPL to a certain extent, and I am sure that Virat will score 500+ runs. He scores 500-600 runs, even if the season is too bad. It will be interesting to see Rohit this season because he is not leading Mumbai Indians, so it will be a different kind of role for Rohit," Dasgupta said.

Dasgupta further stated that the World Cup squad and the playing XI in the tournament are close to being finalized in the minds of the team management despite all the discussions.

"I feel that in spite of all the discussions, the squad for WC is 90-95 percent final and the playing 11 is 99 percent final, because I don't think that both will score runs in the IPL. Another important thing is captaincy because this format is captaincy-based. It's almost fixed that Rohit will be leading as the captain in the World Cup because he is leading, which is supposed to be the last schedule of the series," he added.

After a couple of indifferent seasons, Kohli returned to his best in the previous IPL, scoring 639 runs at an average of over 53 with two centuries.

However, it has not been smooth sailing for Rohit in the lucrative tournament, with the 36-year-old averaging under 30 in each of the last seven seasons. Rohit was also recently replaced by Hardik Pandya as captain for the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the upcoming season.

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"Pitches in the West Indies are not batting friendly" - Deep Dasgupta

Pitches in the Caribbean have become considerably slower over the years.

Deep Dasgupta feels the presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could come in handy on the low-scoring West Indian pitches during the T20 World Cup.

Without the legendary duo, Team India suffered a 2-3 T20I series defeat in the West Indies a few months back. While Kohli is yet to taste success in a T20 World Cup, Rohit was part of the Indian side that triumphed in the inaugural edition in 2007.

"Usually speaking, pitches in the West Indies are not batting friendly, I started off by saying that if we are expecting a 160-170 kind of game, so I think this is a better option because then you have the stability and experience of both these great guys. We have observed the change in the clarity and the approach after the 50 over World Cup," said Dasgupta.

India has struggled in T20 World Cups since the 2007 edition, reaching the final only once in the subsequent seven attempts.

The Men in Blue are also looking to break an ICC title drought that dates back to the 2013 Champions Trophy, when they last triumphed in an ICC event.