Ab de Villiers on Kohli’s inclusion in T20I squad: “He has to play”

AB de Villiers, a former star batter for South Africa, supported India’s selection of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Twenty20 International team against Afghanistan. For the first time since the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, the mainstay batters returned to the Indian T20I lineup. A significant step forward for the Men in Blue ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup is their inclusion. De Villiers discussed the need for veteran batters in the Twenty20 format, believing that India would need them if they were to win the World Cup.

“I acknowledge the criticism directed towards Rohit and Kohli’s selection, but ultimately, this is a World Cup of cricket. Virat Kohli must play if he is talented enough. Since he is a little older, I don’t care if he is managing his career a little bit. However, 20-year-olds will comprehend that India needs the legendary Virat and Rohit to win the T20 World Cup. On his official YouTube channel, de Villiers expressed, “I wish I had that management when I was 35.” “I believe that by including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in their T20I team, India has demonstrated their intentions. It’s evident that they’re considering the T20 World Cup,” de Villiers continued.

Starting on Thursday, Rohit will captain the Indian team in the Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Afghanistan. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma will be the wicketkeepers. The team features a number of all-round players, such as Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dube. The leg spinners will be Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi, while Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar will manage the pace. Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Tilak Varma are the other hitters on the squad. After injuring his ankle during fielding in the third and final game in Johannesburg last December, Suryakumar Yadav, who captained India in the Twenty20 Internationals in South Africa, was left off the squad. He will be returning to training in a few months after undergoing ankle surgery.

Rohit Sharma (captain), 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, and Mukesh Kumar are the Indian team for the three Twenty20 International matches against Afghanistan.