“Virat Kohli needs to demonstrate that he is a superior choice in Twenty20 Internationals,” says Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that batting legend Virat Kohli must perform well in the shortest format to demonstrate that he is a superior choice over the younger players in the discussion over whether or not he should be included in India’s squad for the T20I World Cup next year. Following India’s loss to Australia in the World Cup final, Kohli, who led the run-getter in the ODI World Cup earlier this year, is taking a vacation from limited-overs cricket.

Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar stated that going forward, Hardik Pandya will be a rival for the India captain’s spot in the shortest format. “Virat Kohli will have to show that he is a better option than the youngsters who are playing currently, and Rohit Sharma as T20 batter and captain vs Hardik Pandya, the T20 batter, all-rounder and captain,” Manjrekar said.

The 58-year-old also requested that the team management choose the roster based on form rather than reputation ahead of the next T20I World Cup. “Who knows what’s in store in life? I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I believe the approach should be extremely simple. We have played a lot of World Cups and haven’t been able to win them. We are maybe playing slightly different cricket in the final stages of World Cups. When something goes out of your hand, simplify it. Pick your team based on form close to the World Cup,” he added.

In order to increase their chances of winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, India will try to play more 20-over matches prior to the competition’s commencement. The ‘Men In Blue’ defeated Australia 4-1 in Bengaluru on Sunday in the last game of their current Twenty20 International series. The hosts scored 160 runs because to a strong partnership between all-rounder Axar Patel (31 off 21 balls) and captain Shreyas Iyer (53 runs off 37 balls). The Australians had a wild start to the chase, but they gradually lost wickets. But Australian captain Matthew Wade (36 off 23 balls) narrowed the gap to 10 off 4 balls, and Arshdeep bowled a brilliant last over to lead the hosts to victory by a close margin.