India vs Afghanistan: Gill could be a big loser as Rohit, Kohli return; possible team combinations

Cricket India vs Afghanistan: Gill could be a big loser as Rohit, Kohli return; possible team combinations Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's return to T20Is could go against Shubman gill in the series against Afghanistan while left right combination is also set to take a hit FirstCricket Staff January 09, 2024 12:22:29 IST Shubman Gill may not find a place in India's playing XI in T20Is with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning.

Reuters The decision to bring Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back into the T20I fold has raised a lot of eyebrows in the Indian cricketing circle. While selecting two of India’s all time greatest should not have created any flutter, it is India’s top order failures in 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups that has led to a scrutiny of the 16 member squad for the three match T20I series against Afghanistan.

Read: Major takeaways from India’s T20I squad In both the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, India’s top order was found wanting in an era where batting aggressively from ball one had become the norm. The absence of Rohit and Kohli since the 2022 T20 World Cup indicated that BCCI and national selectors were ready to move on from the veterans as Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma were given a go.

Related Articles Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma still great fielders, should be included in India's T20 World Cup squad: Sunil Gavaskar Ex India selector explains why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been recalled to T20I squad Another aspect that was strengthened in Rohit and Kohli’s absence was India including a lot of left handed batters in their playing XI, something that the team lacked.

In the 2022 T20 World Cup semi final against England, India only had one left hander (Rishabh Pant) among the batters. As Rohit and Kohli were continuously rested, passing the captaincy baton to Hardik Pandya, India opted to add more variety to their batting order by achieving a better balance with right left combination.

In their last T20I against South Africa, India had four left handed batters including Ravindra Jadeja. The other three were Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh. If Rohit and Kohli are included in the squad, it means they are going to walk into the playing XI. In such a case, India are set to compromise on the left right combination, starting from the opening slot.

Besides this, there are other batting challenges for the think tank. If Men in Blue want a left handed opener then Jaiswal will pair up with Rohit followed by Kohli which means there is no place for Gill in the playing XI. Kohli has had a strike rate of 116.27 against spinners in overs 7 16 and the opposition will continue to target the former India captain in the same way.

India can promote Kohli to the top but then with Rohit and Kohli, India will have two right handers as openers. Gill could be No 3 or an inexperienced Jaiswal. But as there will be no left hander in the top 3, India mostly will stick with Jaiswal as an opener. Either Jitesh Sharma or Sanju Samson are guaranteed a place in the XI by virtue of being wicket keepers which means four batting spots are sealed.

There will be an all rounder in Axar Patel, Shivam Dube or Washington Sundar. There will be four bowlers — likely comprising one spinner and three pacers. This leaves India with two more batting spots to fill. If India decide to add one more allrounder to have at least six bowling options, then there’s space for just one more batter.

In such a case, either Tilak Varma or Rinku Singh is set to miss out. With Rinku earning a name as a finisher, he will be prioritised but this only means that India’s finishing will be weakened as Varma will be forced to sit out. The selectors in fact have saved the management a headache by not picking Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja — some of the players who you thought were India’s top T20I cricketers.

Now Rohit and Kohli are world class players and no one can question their ability to change India’s fortunes in the T20 World Cup, but It’s an experiment that has failed in the past. Also, one thing is for sure, BCCI, selectors and team management are in for a nightmare, in selecting the squad for the extravaganza in the USA and Caribbean.

India’s predicted XI for 1st T20I against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson/Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav India’s squad for T20I series against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar Join our Whatsapp channel to get the latest global news updates Published on: January 09, 2024 12:22:29 IST Tags: Cricket India Vs Afghanistan Indian Cricket Team Rohit Sharma.