BCCI Officials To Sit With Kohli. He’s no longer first choice for T20 World Cup

As per the reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will discuss Virat Kohli’s future in T20 International cricket. Despite being the highest run-scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023, Kohli is no longer the first-choice player in India’s T20I XI.

The upcoming T20 World Cup will be held in June 2023, the discussion has quickly shifted from ODIs to T20Is. They have conducted a five-hour-long meeting with captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid and the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, held in New Delhi. The BCCI officials have prepared a roadmap for the upcoming event in the West Indies and the USA. Team India has only 6 T20Is, out of them 3 are in South Africa and 3 are against Afghanistan before finalising the squad for the T20 World Cup.

Top batters Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have already requested for break from the white-ball series at the South Africa tour. That leaves limited opportunities for evaluation. As per the report in Dainik Jagran, while Rohit and Bumrah have a place in the XI squad, Kohli’s position in the T20 World Cup squad is not confirmed.

The BCCI top officials, Secretary Jay Shah, Vice President Rajeev Shukla Treasurer Ashish Shelar and other selectors available in the meeting informed Rohit that they want to him to lead the team in the T20 World Cup. Both Rohit and Kohli have not played in this format since the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 held in Australia. But after Rohit’s impressive performance and reaching the top position in the ODI World Cup in India, the selectors want him to have a final chance at an ICC event. The selectors are not assuring Kohli’s position and are leaning towards Ishan Kishan for the number 3 position, preferring players with an attacking approach.

Virat Kohli To Miss White Ball Games on South Africa Tour, To Be Available for Tests

BCCI officials told in the meeting that the board want a player who can play attacking cricket. Ishan Kishan can be the right pick for the No. 3 spot followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Hardik, and Ravindra Jadeja. Unfortunately, this leaves no space for Kohli, who has been playing white-ball series for India over the last two decades.

Virat Kohli’s consideration for the T20 World Cup squad can be based on his performance in IPL 2024. However, Kohli typically opens, filling the currently available slots and leaving little room for the veteran batsman. Soon, BCCI can discuss with Kohli to clarify his plans for T20Is.