Rohit Sharma opens up on T20I future: “I have not decided to give up the format”

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has clarified that he has no intentions of giving up the T20I format as of now. He also confirmed that he missed out on the Sri Lanka T20I series as part of the team's workload management policy.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya led the Men in Blue in the T20I series against Sri Lanka recently, which India won by a 2-1 margin. Rohit, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul did not feature in the rubber. However, since there was no official statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the squad selection, confusion reigned over whether the senior trio was rested or dropped.

Rohit, Kohli, and Rahul will all be part of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Tuesday, January 10. At a pre-conference ahead of the first ODI, Rohit was asked about the decision to not pick him for the T20Is as well as about his future in the format. He clarified:

“It was made clear that it’s a World Cup year for us - the 50-over World Cup. For some of the guys, it is not possible to play all forms. If you look at the schedule, the matches are back-to-back. We decided to look at some players’ workload. We wanted to make sure that we give them enough break time and manage them. I definitely fall in that as well.

“We have only six T20s - three is over. We have three against New Zealand. We will see what happens after IPL.”

On his T20I future, he confirmed:

“Certainly, I have not decided to give up the format.”

Rohit had a poor T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, managing only one half-century in six matches. The fifty he scored came against the Netherlands in a Super 12 match in Sydney.

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“Captain future mein kaun banega, yeh toh future hi batayega” - Rohit Sharma

Following India’s poor performance under Rohit in the T20 World Cup and the preceding Asia Cup, there were reports that Rohit could be replaced by Hardik as the white-ball skipper. Asked if he is aware of his captaincy future, the star batter responded:

“Difficult to say right now. Everyone’s focus right now is on the 2023 World Cup and the World Test Championship (WTC) as well. The focus is on what is in front of us. Captain future mein kaun banega, yeh toh future hi batayega aapko (The future will tell who is the future captain). You will have to wait for that.”

In Rohit’s absence, Pandya, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Bumrah, and Shikhar Dhawan captained India at various times last year.