'I have not decided to give up the format' - Rohit Sharma clears air on his T20I future
The Indian captain hasn't played T20I cricket since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Rohit Sharma returns to international cricket as India host Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series starting January 10 in Guwahati. India captain suffered a minor thumb injury during India's second ODI against Bangladesh last month, which forced him out of the two-match Test series that followed the ODI fixtures.
He was rested for the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka as the management wanted to give him enough time to recover.
The 35-year-old opener's last T20I game was India's semi-final clash against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup in November. His performances in T20I cricket attracted a lot of criticism in 2022 and his fitness issues are also raising eyebrows lately. However, ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Rohit cleared the air on his T20I future and also talked about the necessity of breaks.
"Firstly, it is not possible to play back-to-back matches. You need to give them (all format players) enough break. I definitely fall in that as well. We have three T20Is against New Zealand. We will see what happens after IPL. I have not decided to give up the format," Rohit Sharma told the media on Monday, January 9.
Shubman Gill will play ahead of Ishan Kishan in ODIs: Rohit Sharma
After sealing the T20Is against Sri Lanka by a margin of 2-1, the Indian team now starts its preparations for the 2023 One-Day World Cup with three ODIs against Sri Lanka. Apart from Rohit, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are also part of the ODI squad. When asked about his opening partner in the first ODI, Rohit stated that Shubman Gill will start ahead of Ishan Kishan.
Gill enjoyed a great run in ODIs in 2022 in the absence of Rohit but now faces competition for the opening spot with Ishan. Ishan smashed 210 runs against Bangladesh in India's last ODI in December but the Indian skipper closed the discussion on who will be starting alongside him on Tuesday by adding, "unfortunate that we won't be able to play Ishan Kishan. We have to give Gill (Shubman Gill) a fair run."
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