In an exclusive interview with Star Sports, former chief selector MSK Prasad made a big revelation regarding the selection strategy of the Indian team for the T20 series against Afghanistan and the subsequent T20 World Cup. According to him, it is very important for the players to perform well in this format before the T20 World Cup, first in Afghanistan and then in the IPL.

Let us tell you, a three-match T20 series is to be played between India and Afghanistan from January 11, for which the Indian team has been announced. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to the Indian T20 team. Rohit Sharma will be seen captaining the Indian team while Virat Kohli will look to score important runs for his team in this format. Hardik Pandya will not play in the series against Afghanistan due to injury, while KL Rahul has been rested and Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma have been included in the team as wicketkeepers in his place.

MSK Prasad said, ‘I think Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been given some rest after the South Africa tour. This was also necessary because both of their players had performed very well in the ICC ODI World Cup. He definitely should have got a break. Now both these players would like to perform well against Afghanistan. I believe that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will definitely be a part of the T20 World Cup and they should start playing from this series.

MSK Prasad further said, ‘The question arises that why both these players did not play after the last T20 World Cup? They were given rest because after this the team had to play the ODI World Cup and both these players had to perform well in ODIs. And that’s what they did. This is the reason why other young players got more and more opportunities. The team management and selectors are thinking right. At that time he had to focus on ODI cricket and World Test Championship. Now we are moving towards T20 cricket and their focus should be on this format.

Former Indian selector expressed his views regarding the final team of T20 World Cup

Regarding the final team of T20 World Cup 2024, MSK Prasad said, ‘I think players like Virat and Rohit and Shami, Bumrah, Siraj, Jadeja and Hardik should definitely be included in the team. These are all important aspects of the team. There are some other places where I would like to keep Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson. If KL Rahul does wicketkeeping then who will be your second keeper? What if Rishabh Pant is fit or Ishan Kishan is ready? If both these players remain fit then who will play in the top order?

I don’t think we need a player like him in the top order. We need someone in the middle order and if Sanju Samson is also included in the selection list then it will be very difficult to choose among all these players. After the Indian Premier League, the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will be monitored. The selectors are going to be in a lot of trouble.