‘Don’t pick Rohit Sharma only as batter for T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli…': Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Akram on India's future

Amid reports of Rohit Sharma making it clear about not playing T20Is, former India opener Gautam Gambhir said he would like to see both Rohit and Virat Kohli play the T20 World Cup slated to take place in the West Indies and the United States of America in June next year. Rohit led India to the final of the recently concluded ODI World Cup on the back of a record 10 victories on the trot. Although India faltered in the final, losing the match to eventual champions Australia, Rohit's selfless leadership stood out in what can be termed as one of India's most dominating outings in a World Cup.

Rohit and Kohli have not featured in a T20I for India ever since the T20 World Cup semi-final in Australia in 2022. The dynamic duo decided to move away from the format so that selectors could inject new blood. In came Hardik Pandya. He has been India's unofficial T20I captain for about a year now. Unofficial because BCCI never made it official that Rohit won't feature in T20Is going ahead or that even if he does, Hardik will be the captain.

But the way things were developing, it was more or less certain that Hardik has been given the charge to prepare for the T20 World Cup in 2024. But in between, the developments of ODI cricket once again brought both Rohit and Kohli into T20 discussion. Rohit led India to a dominating Asia Cup triumph and bulldozed every opposition in the World Cup before finally getting stopped by Australia.

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Apart from India's success, what also stood out was Rohit's fearless batting at the top of the order. He scored nearly 600 runs (597 to be precise) in World Cup 2023 at a strike rate of 125. That has never been done in World Cup history. So many runs at such a high strake is unheard of. It was as if Rohit it took it upon himself to be the sole reason for India's headstart in every World Cup match. In the process, he also got out in the 40s five times and twice in the 80s but that didn't stop the experienced cricketer. He continued to bat the same way till the final.

This incredible brand of cricket has made experts believe that Rohit is the ideal man to lead India's charge in the upcoming T20 World Cup, especially because it is barely six months away.

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Gambhir said there is no doubt about the fact that both Rohit and Kohli should be picked for the T20 World Cup and if they are, Rohit should be the captain and not Hardik. "They both need to get picked, both should be picked. More importantly, I want to see Rohit Sharma as captain in the T20 World Cup. Yes, Hardik has been captaining in T20Is but I would still want to see Rohit as captain in the World Cup. Don't pick Rohit Sharma only as a batter. Rohit is a phenomenal leader, he has proved that with his leadership and batting in this ODI World Cup. If you are picking Rohit, which you should then he should be selected as a captain who can bat. And Virat also should be an automatic choice," Gambhir told Sportskeeda.

‘Rohit and Kohli are main players of India’: Akram

Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram also had similar thoughts about the two legends of Indian cricket. "There are barely six months to go for the T20 World Cup. I will pick both Rohit and Kohli. They are the main players for the team. You need a bit of experience even in T20s, can't build a team with only youngsters," he said.

As things stand now, Rohit, Kohli and most of the other senior members of the World Cup squad have been given a break from the five-match T20I series against Australia starting Thursday. Only Suryaukuar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Ishan Kishan are the ones that will feature in the T20Is with Shreyas Iyer joining the squad after the third match.

Another crucial aspect that the selectors will keep a close eye on is the fitness of Hardik Pandya. The India all-rounder is injury prone and there are high chances that he will miss the entire South Africa tour. If the selectors think of him as India's captain for the T20 World Cup, then he will enter the team with almost no match-practice with the Indian team. Will they take such a big gamble?