Former India player and the 1983 World Cup winner, Kirti Azad, has revealed that Rohit Sharma told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah that he wants Virat Kohli in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad. Earlier, it was reported that the management and the BCCI don’t like the veteran cricketer in the team due to his strike rate issues in the shortest format.
According to a report in the Telegraph, the BCCI has instructed the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, to inform Virat Kohli about his exclusion. However, the top brass could rethink if Virat performs exceptionally well for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
The global T20 tournament will be played after the IPL. It is scheduled in the West Indies and the USA from June 2 to 29.
Refuting the claims of Virat Kohli’s absence from the T20 World Cup, Kirti Azad took to X to write:
“Why should Jay Shah, he is not a selector, to give responsibility to Ajit Agarkar to talk to the other selectors and convince them that Virat Kohli is not getting a place in the T20 team. For this, time was given till 15th March. If sources are to be believed, Ajit Agarkar was neither able to convince himself nor the other selectors. Jay Shah asked Rohit Sharma too but Rohit said we need Virat Kohli at any cost. Virat Kohli will play the T20 World Cup and its official announcement will be made before the team selection.Nincompoops should not involve themselves in selection process.”
Kohli has returned to India to play for RCB in the 17th season of the IPL. He missed the five-match Test series against England to be with his wife, Anushka Sharma, who gave birth to their second child, Akaay.