Ever since the debacle of 2 T20 World Cups, it was understood that the main reason behind those losses was the slow batting at the top of the order. There were 3 batsmen Rohit, Rahul and Kohli who are similar types of players in the sense that they need time to unleash their strokes. By the time they are set, more than half the overs a bowled and hence, dynamic batting at the top of the order is of necessity. Both of them were unofficially dropped following the 2022 World T20. The selectors and most of the fans felt a need for urgency at the top of the order. Hardik Pandya was made the captain and a team full of dynamic batsmen was picked. Now, the wheel seems to have come a complete circle. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in the T20 mix. It seems that T20 Rohit and Kohli have been given one more chance to win that elusive title.
It is all but given that both of them will feature in that World Cup squad that will travel to the West Indies in June. Otherwise, there is no point in bringing them back. Agreed, the regular captain, Pandya is injured and his replacement as T20 captain, Surya Yadav is also injured. From that perspective, the selectors may have run out of options to appoint another captain. With Pant not available and Jadeja not really desiring captaincy, they were left with no choice but to hand it over to Rohit.
Hoping for aggressive Rohit and Kohli
If Rohit is back as the captain, Kohli must also be back. It will take a few brave selectors to not select Kohli but only Rohit. Surely, the selectors saw something in Rohit following his aggressive batting during the just concluded ODI World Cup. It is within Rohit’s talent to again strike at well over 140 in T20 as well. Now that his captaincy tenure for his IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians is finished, he will be free from the mind block, if he had any, that restricted his strokeplay. He may even reinvent himself during the next edition of the IPL and that can only be good news for the nation.
As for Kohli, his struggle against spin remains. He may not get out to spin but he is unable to play freely either. During the last IPL. his strike rate was just over 100 which is not at all good at the T20 World Cup. England, Australia and New Zealand have hitters who can score well in excess of 140. As I have written above, it takes not just one but multiple brave selectors to drop someone like Kohli and bring back Rohit alone.
The problem with these two coming back is that it may not leave any room for Rinku Singh, the standout player against Australia. He could turn games within a few deliveries. He is also left-handed, a rarity in Indian cricket.
Wrapping up T20 Rohit and Kohli
The first challenge in Afghanistan and later, the entire season of IPL awaits for both of them to scpre at a rate that they are not accustomed to.