After experiencing disappointment in the final of the recently-concluded Cricket World Cup, the attention has now shifted to the upcoming showpiece event, which is the T20 World Cup in 2024 in West Indies and the USA. Though Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have had a productive 50-over World Cup, there has been speculation about their involvement in the shorter format in the upcoming days.
However, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar feels both the veterans still have plenty to offer for the Indian side even in the T20 format. “If you ask, do Rohit and Kohli have cricket left in them? Yes, definitely. Do you get a better opener than Rohit in the world right now? No, you don’t,” he told Zee News.
Both Rohit and Kohli have not played a single T20I for India since the loss in Adelaide against England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022. Since then Hardik Pandya has been leading the side in bilateral series.
Akhtar said he assumed that Pandya would lead the side for the upcoming T20 World Cup and said the all-rounder should provide a platform for both the veterans to leave the game respectfully similar to MS Dhoni’s treatment of Sachin Tendulkar in 2011.
“They deserve this respect. I’m maybe putting pressure on Hardik Pandya through this, but he needs to give that respect to Rohit and Kohli. He is in the team because of them. The kind of favours he has got in the team from them should be repaid. And they are legends of Indian cricket, so they should be given due respect before they are let go,” Akhtar said.
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