Indian captain Rohit Sharma gave a cheeky response when he was asked about his availability for the T20I series against Afghanistan. The three-match series between the teams will be played between 11th and 17th January across three venues in India.
The upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan is likely to give all the answers related to the Indian team’s future in T20Is. One of the biggest things that is expected to be revealed is the availability of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the shortest format of the game.
The duo hasn’t been part of the T20I setup since the last T20 World Cup and there have been a lot of speculations about their future. However, there have been several reports that have suggested that both are keen to play in the format and are very much in contention for the T20 World Cup 2024.
The reports stated both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have told BCCI that are they available for selection in T20Is. BCCI is expected to announce the squad for the series soon and it won’t be a surprise if both the pioneers of Indian cricket make a return in the format.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma, however, refused to give clarity on the same. After the Test win against South Africa in Cape Town, he was asked if he would make a return to the T20I format during the Afghanistan series.
Replying to this, Rohit Sharma was at his cheeky best. He told the reporter that he is using his brain a lot and he should concentrate on the Cape Town Test. Speaking during the post-match press conference, he explained:
“Dimaag laga rahe ho aap (You are using you brain)…let’s concentrate on Cape Town now”.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were at their best during the last white-ball games they played. They were last seen in action during the ICC World Cup 2023. The duo were at their staggering best in the tournament. While Virat ended with 765 runs, Rohit scored 597 runs.
IND vs SA: It’ll be one of our best Test match victories – Rohit Sharma
India drew the Test series against South Africa by the margin of 1-1. After suffering a loss in the first game by the margin of innings and 32 runs, they made a strong comeback. The Rohit Sharma-led side defeated the hosts by 7 wickets in Cape Town to script history. This was the first time India won a Test I’m Cape Town.
Rohit Sharma opened up about the win, saying that it’s one the best Test matches for the team. He rated Cape Town victory on the same page as that of Gabba. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“It’ll be one of our best Test match victories. Having not won here in Cape Town [before] this puts it right up there with all the victories that we’ve had. It’s very hard to compare the Test matches that you play because every Test match has its own importance and own relevance. The Test match that we won at The Gabba as well. The last test match that was lost by Australia in Brisbane was in 1988, I think. Nearly after 23, 24 years [32 years] we won the Test match there. It kind of became like their fortress. They never lose a test match there.
“And the way we won that Test match as well was quite important. From where we came, we were 1-nil down, we won in Melbourne and then we drew the Test match in Sydney and then won in Brisbane. So you can’t rank the Test matches, but this has to be right up there because we had not won here. That shows how important a venue this is for us to come here and perform. I give a lot of credit to our team to put up a performance like that and win the game.”
Rohit Sharma became only the second Indian skipper to draw a series in South Africa, joining MS Dhoni, who achieved the feat during the 2010-11 tour.
