'He has never expressed desire to not lead India…': Ex-IND star calls attention to 'mystery' surrounding Rohit, Kohli
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have remained absent from T20Is since last year's T20 World Cup.
On Wednesday, the BCCI confirmed an extension for Rahul Dravid as head coach, as well as the rest of the support staff following the heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final against Australia. There were speculations on whether Dravid would extend the contract; he had remained tight-lipped in the post-match press conference following the World Cup final, but eventually agreed to stay with the side. While the exact duration of the extension is not revealed, it is expected that Dravid will see through India's campaigns at the T20 World Cup in West Indies next year, as well as the third World Test Championship cycle.
However, there isn't much clarity over the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the shortest format of the game. The duo has remained absent from the format since the T20 World Cup last year; Hardik Pandya has since been leading the side in the format and this year, team India has seen the arrival of multiple youngsters into the T20 fold. While the senior duo is speculated for a return to the format before the next year's global tournament, confusion remains over the same.
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Amid the speculations, former India opener Aakash Chopra posted a rather interesting tweet over the same. He stated that contrary to the reports doing the rounds, Rohit has “never expressed” his will to not be available in T20Is, and the reason for his and Kohli's absence from the format has never been clarified.
“I don’t think Rohit has ever expressed his desire not to lead India in any format. Happy to be corrected…if I have missed anything,” Chopra wrote.
“So, why does he need to be convinced for something that he’s never said NO to?? In fact, since the last T20 World Cup…nobody has mentioned why Rohit-Virat weren’t a part of any T20i that India played. That’s a mystery…nobody has ever tried to unravel.”
On Thursday, the BCCI are expected to announce the squads for the T20I series against South Africa in December; the selection will all but confirm the board's roadmap for the World Cup next year, as the series against the Proteas remains pivotal in preprations for the marquee tournament.
