T20I squad vs Afghan: Rohit, Kohli return; Sanju added

Cape Town: The Indian squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan has been announced, and the highlight is the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Also, Sanju Samson makes space in the team, PTI reported.

Rohit and Kohli last appeared in a T20 for India in the World Cup semifinal against England in November 2022.

Back then, the two veterans, along with KL Rahul, were seen to be playing archaic cricket in the powerplay, and the team needed to move on from that approach with Hardik Pandya earmarked as the new T20 skipper.

However, Pandya's own injury in the ODI World Cup, along with, more recently, Suryakumar Yadav's ligament tear, resulted in a lot of inexperience at the top of the order.

PTI had reported last week that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel was set to pick the celebrated duo for the Afghanistan series.

"Decisions on Rohit and Virat can't solely be taken by the selection committee. There is a lot at stake, broadcasters, sponsors and you can't pick one and drop the other. Ajit and his team needed to maintain a status quo," a former India selector told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

While Rohit's chances of leading India in the T20 World Cup has considerably brightened, the development comes across as a big blow to Hardik's captaincy ambitions at the global event in June.

However, he has replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians skipper for IPL 2024.

The T20 squad also features Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma, who will be the two glovesmen with Ishan Kishan being ignored for the shortest format.