Challenge & opportunity: For India’s next-gen batters, South Africa T20I series is a chance to further strengthen their case for T20 World Cup
cricket team can turn a corner, at least in the T20 format. Or it may decide not to, and continue down the same road that has got them success but no trophy in a decade, for some more time.
When it comes to deciding the direction the team should take, the buck stops with the BCCI and the selectors.
Last week, when the squads for the tour of South Africa were announced, they had the opportunity to take that decision, but they decided to shoulder arms and let the moment pass by unutilised. So, here they are, with a cup (not the one they are looking to get for over a decade) overflowing with young batting talent and an old guard that is refusing to fade away.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two superstars of this era, who haven’t played a single T20I since India’s loss to England in the T20 World Cup semifinal last year, were once again not included in India’s T20I squad that would face South Africa in a three-match series starting tomorrow in Durban.
It may seem as clear an indication as possible that Rohit and Kohli are not part of the BCCI’s plans for the T20 side that will represent India in the T20 World Cup in June-July next year. But then, the fact they 'requested' to not be named in the white-ball squads so that they could take an extended break after the 50-over World Cup heartbreak indicates that they remain a possibility for the T20 World Cup.
To be fair to the BCCI and the selectors, they cannot behave like news and social media experts and commentators and sideline the players who have been stellar performers for several years, especially right after they had done well at the World Cup, even if in a different format.
