Rohit, Kohli return to T20I fold as India unveil squad for Afghanistan series
The BCCI finally ended the suspense surrounding India’s squad for the upcoming three-T20I series against Afghanistan on Sunday evening
The biggest takeaway from the announcement was Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s return to the T20I fold after more than a year!
Both Rohit and Kohli had last represented India in the shortest format in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, in which England thrashed the Men in Blue by 10 wickets
What’s more, Rohit has also been named captain of the team, and is back to leading India in all three formats
Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, who have captained India in T20Is since November 2022, will miss the series due to injury, as will Ruturaj Gaikwad
Sanju Samson returns to the T20I side after an impressing run in the ODI series in South Africa, where he notched up his maiden international century to help the Men in Blue win the decider
Additionally, seniors such as Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja miss out though out of the three, Jadeja’s a certainty for the T20 World Cup later this year
Afghanistan had announced their squad a day earlier, with off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman — who hasn’t played T20Is since July last year — among those included in the Ibrahim Zadran-led side
The series will commence in Mohali on Thursday, 11 January before moving to Indore and Bengaluru on 14 and 17 January respectively