T20 World Cup 2024: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era is almost over for Team India in T20Is. The two batting greats are struggling badly in the shortest format and their technique in ever-evolving T20 cricket has come under the scanner in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023). Hence for the T20Is, Ravi Shastri wants India to replace Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with high-caliber, younger players.
Shastri stated that the selection criterion should only take into account “current form” because the 2024 T20 World Cup is still more than a year away.
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When asked about how soon players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jitesh Sharma, and Tilak Varma should get a promotion to Team India, Shastri stated his rather controversial opinions to ESPNcricinfo’s Runorder show.
“First T20 series that comes up, play these guys [the youngsters], expose these guys. They [the selectors] should start blooding them right now,” former India coach said.
“Players like Rohit, Virat Kohli, they are proven, you know what they are all about. I would go in that [good performers in the IPL] direction so that they get the opportunities, they get the exposure, whilst you keep the Virats and the Rohits fresh for one-day cricket and Test cricket.”
“Your focus there with that kind of experience should move to Test cricket, red-ball cricket for the future World Test Championship, and they stay fresh [so that] there is not too much of cricket where there is an overkill,” he added.
Shastri also believed that each position in the batting order should be filled by a specialist, that players shouldn’t be forced into unnatural positions, and that there should be a decent balance of left- and right-handed batters in the lineup. He also said that selections must be done on “current form”.
Shastri had previously argued in favour of Hardik Pandya’s appointment as the permanent captain of the India T20I team and thinks that, based on his performance with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, Hardik will place the right people in the right positions.
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