Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma can still play T20 cricket for India, believes Ashish Nehra

India’s batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have been absent from T20Is ever since the team was knocked out of the semi-final of the last T20 World Cup. In their absence, Hardik Pandya has been leading the side until an injury during the World Cup prompted Suryakumar Yadav to step into the captaincy role in the current series against Australia.

Also, emerging talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Tilak Varma have flourished in the format, solidifying their places in the squad.

As per recent reports, Rohit Sharma is leaning towards retiring from T20Is. The report says that Rohit has deliberated on this decision before the ODI World Cup. If the younger players fail to deliver, the selectors could well ask Rohit to reconsider his stance.

The same can be said about Virat Kohli who was not mentioned in the report, but it could still be possible that he might not make a comeback for the T20 World Cup. However, as per Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra, the decision should be left to Rohit and Kohli, and he said that if the duo opts to continue, the younger talents must outperform them for a spot in the XI.

As per Nehra, players like Jaiswal, Gaikwad, and Gill must compete with Rohit, a “super-youngster” at 36, and Kohli. Nehra also downplayed the impact of the ODI World Cup loss and said that as long as Kohli and Rohit score runs, they will be discussed unless they take a call on their future.

“Loss in the ODI World Cup shouldn’t make a difference. How those two think is the most important part. Virat Kohli is scoring runs in IPL, Rohit Sharma is performing, any selector will be tempted and they will have discussions unless they announce their retirement, which I hope won’t be the case in near future,” Nehra said on JioCinema.

For the ongoing Australia series, all players from the ODI World Cup squad, except Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Prasidh Krishna, have been given a rest.

When we talk about Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, again — World Cup is very far — if they want to play and they are scoring runs, youngsters will have to beat them to make a place in the XI,” Nehra further added.