Now, former Indian cricketer and politician Kirti Azad has claimed that Rohit Sharma has told the BCCI that the Indian team needs Virat Kohli at all costs and that the official announcement regarding Kohli’s selection for the upcoming World Cup will be made before the team selection.

Citing sources, Azad revealed the information via his X (formerly Twitter) account and said, “If sources are to be believed, Ajit Agarkar was neither able to convince himself nor the other selectors. Jay Shah asked Rohit Sharma too, but Rohit said we need Virat Kohli at any cost. Virat Kohli will play the T20 World Cup, and its official announcement will be made before the team selection,”

Notably, both Virat and Rohit had been out of the Indian T20 squad since the Men in Blue’s heartbreaking performance at the 2022 T20 World Cup. A new Indian team had been formulated under the leadership of Hardik Pandya with youngsters like Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Shivam Dube.

However, soon after the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup, the BCCI announced that Rohit Sharma would lead the Indian side in the T20 World Cup to be held in June, with no official word on Virat Kohli’s presence in the T20 squad. The duo then made their comeback to T20 cricket in January this year with the 3-match series against Afghanistan.

A report in the Telegraph recently claimed that the Ajit Agargkar-led selection committee is looking to replace Virat Kohli in the T20 squad with a newer and more aggressive batsman. The report also noted that only a superlative performance from the batting legend in the upcoming IPL season could save his place in the Indian T20 squad.

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Published: 17 Mar 2024, 11:42 AM IST