The debate between experience versus fresh blood has once again reared its head in Indian cricket in the wake of the T20 World Cup in June.
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From the Greg Chappell era in the early 2000s, MS Dhoni's India in the 2010s and now the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side, all three have had their fair share of controversy in the same vein.
And this time, the bone of contention is surprisingly Virat Kohli, arguably the best ODI batter in recent times, who is struggling to nail down a spot for himself in the T20 squad. However, for the time being, the speculation surrounding Virat's inclusion in the T20 World Cup 2024 squad came to an end as the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, named them in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
While the return of the veteran was endorsed by cricket legends Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Gavaskar, some critics, including former cricketer Deep Dasgupta, criticized the move as "directionless."
Kohli and Rohit had refrained from T20Is since India's 2022 World Cup semifinal exit, focusing on ODIs and Test cricket. India, in their absence, cultivated young talents like Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Jitesh Sharma post the 2023 IPL season, complicating squad decisions.
Dasgupta expressed surprise, believing the team had moved on from Kohli and Rohit's archaic T20 approach. He questioned the selection's direction, considering the emerging talents and the conditions expected in the West Indies.
What did Deep Dasgupta say?
Speaking to Star Sports, Dasgupta said: "I was slightly surprised because I thought the team had moved on from Rohit and Kohli. 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?
"To be very honest, I do not find any direction here for India in the last one 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."
The ex-wicketkeeper noted that the middle-order, featuring Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and others, would likely resemble the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal lineup against England, and hence a standout finisher like Rinku Singh might miss out due to the senior players' return.
"If you look at the team India had against England (in 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal) and the one against Australia recently, Hardik, Jadeja and Bumrah and Siraj will be back, but the middle-order will remain the same. Kohli will play at No. 3, Surya at 4, Hardik at 5, Jitesh or Samson at 6, then Jadeja and the rest follow. So there won't be any difference in that middle-order finisher role," he said.
"Someone like Rinku Singh will miss out. You have to pick one between Jitesh and Samson. I am talking about the T20 World Cup going forward. Rinku and Yashasvi had both impressed a lot, especially the former, because he plays a very specific and unique role and there aren't many competitors for that spot as well.
"You will get plenty of top-order batters, but there are rarely batters who can perform at No. 7 or 8. Rinku and Tilak might play against Afghanistan, but going forward, when Hardik and Surya will be available, I feel Rinku and Tilak will both miss out," he concluded.
How has Rinku Singh performed in T20Is for India?
In his 12 appearances for the Indian cricket team in T20 Internationals, Rinku has accumulated a total of 262 runs at a strike rate of 180.
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20Is | 12 | 8 | 4 | 262 | 68* | 65.50 | 145 | 180.68 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 14 | 5 | 0 |
After Rinku was dropped from the India squad against the West Indies there was a huge furore on social media demanding justice for the Kolkata Knight Riders batter. It remains to be seen if the fans show similar support to Rinku if he is dropped from the T20 squad in June.
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