Why are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma not in India's squad for South Africa T20Is and ODIs?

Indian men's selectors have left Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma out of the squad for the T20I and ODI series against South Africa.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that both senior batters asked for a rest after the 2023 World Cup. Rohit, the captain, and Kohli, the No. 3 batter, played all games at the tournament. They also took rest from the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia which began soon after the World Cup.

"Mr Rohit Sharma and Mr Virat Kohli had requested the Board for a break from the white-ball leg of the tour," a BCCI statement read.

India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

The teams will play three T20Is from December 10-14, three ODIs from December 17-21, and two Tests from December 26-January 7.

Is this the end of the road for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in T20Is?

The biggest question, mostly complicated due to contrasting, unsubstantiated reports going around before the squad announcement was whether Rohit and Kohli would be part of the team or not. Now they are not, the question is what does it mean for their future in T20Is concerning the 2024 T20 World Cup?

There's no simple answer. But both players haven't played any T20I cricket in over a year now. Their IPL record, especially Rohit's, hasn't been the best for a long time, with good young players having come up and performed at the highest level in their place. These include Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, among others.

Before the 2023 World Cup, whenever they didn't play a T20I series, it looked like another nail in the coffin of their careers in the format. However, the fact that the BCCI mentioned only 'break', shows that selectors have kicked the can forward and delayed the tough decision for another month.