Following India’s elimination from the T20 World Cup semi-final, there were already discussions of gradually removing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the shortest format, and the new statement from Rahul Dravid has validated the move.
They gained momentum when both of the stalwarts were left off the India T20I squad for the three-match series (Rohit was injured), and now head coach Rahul Dravid has made strong suggestions of developing a new team with the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024 in mind.
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Even without mentioning Rohit or Kohli, Rahul Dravid made it very evident that India had made the decision to look ahead in T20Is. The former India captain, and now head coach, also said that with the 50-over World Cup taking place in India at the end of this year, the seniors’ attention will now primarily be on the ODI format.
“Only three to four boys from our most recent T20 World Cup semi-final against England are included in the starting XI for us (against Sri Lanka)” Dravid said in the media post India’s defeat by Sri Lanka in the second T20I, Pune.
He further added, “The T20s give us the chance to test out these players because the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship are receiving a lot of attention. Our team is a little younger because we are looking ahead to the next T20 cycle, so playing against Sri Lanka’s calibre is an amazing experience for us.”
David is correct. Only Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh were on the Indian XI that lost to Sri Lanka on Thursday. The rest of the team lost to England by a margin of 10 wickets in the World Cup semi-final last year.
Since the World Cup, India has played two T20I series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with Hardik Pandya serving as the team’s captain. Hardik’s promotion hasn’t been officially announced by the selectors, but it’s probable that he will continue to lead in the majority of T20Is moving forward.
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When asked about India’s performance, Dravid responded that everyone should be patient with the youthful team because they occasionally have bad days, as they did in the second T20I against Sri Lanka, where they lost by 16 runs.
