Chief selector Ajit Agarkar likely to speak to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli over T20 World Cup: Reports

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and some members of the selection committee are likely to have a chat with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be played in the United States and the West Indies later in the year.

Kohli and Rohit have not played any T20Is for India since the Men in Blue’s semi-final exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup. However, there are reports that the senior duo is keen on featuring in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

A report in PTI stated that Agarkar and company will speak to Rohit, Kohli, and head coach Rahul Dravid before announcing the Indian squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan. The report added that two of the national selectors, Shiv Sunder Das and Salil Ankola, are already in Cape Town and will be joined by chief selector Agarkar during the second Test.

As per the news agency, around 30 T20 specialists, including India and IPL stars, will be monitored to pick the best squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, there is no certainty over whether Rohit and Kohli will be picked for the home series against Afghanistan since it is not likely to tell the selectors much.

The report quoted sources as claiming that Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 could be the tournament that decides the make-up of the Indian team for the next ICC event.

“Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya aren't fit. The Afghanistan series won't tell you anything. Everything will be decided on the basis of the first month of IPL,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

On the possibility of 25-30 players being closely monitored during the IPL, the source added:

“The BCCI can never tell a franchise to manage a star player's workload unless it's a case of injury management.”

According to reports, IPL 2024 is likely to start from March 22 and will conclude towards the end of May. The T20 World Cup will be played from June 4 to 30.

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Kohli and Rohit are the leading run-getters in T20Is

Incidentally, Kohli and Rohit are the two leading run-getters in the T20I format. The former is the first player to score more than 4,000 T20I runs. He has 4,008 runs in 115 matches at an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96 with one hundred and 37 fifties.

On the other hand, Rohit has notched up 3,853 runs from 148 matches at an average of 31.32 and a strike rate of 139.24 with four centuries and 29 half-centuries.