Former India cricketer surprised with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s inclusion against Afghanistan

Deep Dasgupta has given his opinion on India’s squad against Afghanistan. The former Indian cricketer was surprised after seeing the inclusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in T20Is against Afghanistan. The former India batter felt that India had moved on from its seniors. “I was slightly surprised because I thought the team had moved on from Rohit and Kohli,” said Deep Dasgupta.

It is interesting to note that India has recalled Rohit and Virat after more than 14 months in the format. The last match the two played in the format was the semifinal against England in the T20 World Cup 2022. With the series being the only assignment of India before the start of the T20 WC 2024, the selectors decided to recall the senior batters to see what they had in store.

Deep felt that the criticism about the two batters was the lack of intent. Dasgupta acknowledged the fact that the wickets in the West Indies and the USA would be challenging in the T20 World Cup 2024. He added that the selection of players would make sense based on the par scores in the tournament. Deep felt that the selection must depend on the nature of the wickets they expect.

I do not find any direction here for India in the last one year – Deep Dasgupta

“The main criticism was the lack of intent from the senior players in the last T20 World Cup. But then again, you need to keep in mind the kind of tracks you are expecting in the West Indies – are you expecting a 180 or 200-run wicket to 160-ish kind of tracks?” added Deep Dasgupta in his statement. The former West Bengal cricketer felt that India have gone nowhere in the last year or so.

The former India batter said that India has gone back to 2022 when the two senior batters were removed for their lack of intent. “To be very honest, I do not find any direction here for India in the last year. If they had to go back to Kohli and Rohit…given the squads we had in the last one year, it is like going back to square one,” said Deep Dasgupta.