Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to India’s T20I squad after an absence of more than a year from the format for the three-match series against Afghanistan, India’s last T20I series before the T20 World Cup in June.
Rohit has been named captain of the squad while those who led the side in his absence, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, are injured and unavailable for selection.
Rohit and Kohli have not played T20Is since India’s semi-final defeat to England in the T20 World Cup in November 2022, choosing to prioritise Test cricket and ODIs in the lead-up to the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup in 2023. Their selection now, which comes after India’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar flew to South Africa during the New Year’s Test in Cape Town, means that both players are back in India’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.
India have mostly been led by Hardik in T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup, and Suryakumar stood in as captain after Hardik injured his ankle during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Suryakumar led India in the five-match T20I series at home against Australia and the three T20Is in South Africa in December but has also been ruled out for a couple of months because of an ankle injury he picked up in South Africa. Both Hardik and Suryakumar are expected to return for the IPL in March.
(cricinfor)
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