"Do not find any direction here for India" - Deep Dasgupta surprised by Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli's inclusion in T20I squad

Former wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta expressed surprise at the move to bring Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back into India's T20 setup for the Afghanistan series.

Kohli and Rohit have not played T20Is for India since the side's 10-wicket defeat in the 2022 World Cup semi-final against England. Despite making themselves available for the shortest format again, there were questions on whether the pair should be in India's plans for the T20 World Cup.

However, Rohit and Kohli's selection for the Afghanistan series guarantees their participation in the showpiece event in June.

Speaking to Star Sports, Deep Dasgupta stated that India went back to square one, making no sense of all the moves made over the past year.

"I was slightly surprised because I thought the team had moved on from Rohit and Kohli. The main criticism was the lack of intent from the senior players in the last T20 World Cup. But then again, you need to keep in mind the kind of tracks you are expecting in the West Indies - are you expecting a 180 or 200-run wicket to 160-ish kind of tracks? To be very honest, I do not find any direction here for India in the last one year. If they had to go back to Kohli and Rohit...given the squads we had in the last one year, it is like going back to square one," said Dasgupta.

Dasgupta added that the Indian playing XI would now resemble the side that suffered a crushing defeat to England in the previous T20 World Cup.

"If you look at the team India had against England (in 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal) and the one against Australia recently, Hardik, Jadeja and Bumrah and Siraj will be back, but the middle-order will remain the same. Kohli will play at No. 3, Surya at 4, Hardik at 5, Jitesh or Samson at 6, then Jadeja and the rest follow. So there won't be any difference in that middle-order finisher role," added Dasgupta.

Apart from returning to the squad, Rohit was named the captain for the three-match series against Afghanistan, starting on Thursday.

Team India has struggled in T20 World Cups since winning the inaugural edition in 2007. They have qualified for the final only once in the previous seven tournaments.

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"Someone like Rinku Singh will miss out" - Deep Dasgupta

Rinku has been a revelation for India in T20Is.

Deep Dasgupta feels that with the return of Rohit and Kohli, someone like Rinku Singh might have to miss out on being part of the playing XI in the T20 World Cup.

Rinku has made a remarkable start to his international career, averaging 65.50 at a strike rate of 180.68 in 12 T20Is. However, with Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya set to return during the IPL, India may be spoilt for choices in the middle-order.

"Someone like Rinku Singh will miss out. You have to pick one between Jitesh and Samson. I am talking about the T20 World Cup going forward. Rinku and Yashasvi had both impressed a lot, especially the former, because he plays a very specific and unique role and there aren't much competitors for that spot as well," said Dasgupta.

"You will get plenty of top-order batters, but there are rarely batters who can perform at No. 7 or 8. Rinku and Tilak might play against Afghanistan, but going forward, when Hardik and Surya will be available, I feel Rinku and Tilak will both miss out," he added.

Rinku has played the finisher role to perfection since debuting against Ireland in August last year.

The Afghanistan series will be India's last T20I assignment until the World Cup in the West Indies and U.S.A.