Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India, has discussed the challenges of managing a vast talent pool when it comes to providing chances to players leading up to crucial squad selections for major events. Ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue utilized the home T20I series against Afghanistan to give numerous players the opportunity to showcase their skills.
In the three-match series, every member of the squad had a chance to play, but the selected team wasn’t the primary choice due to several players being sidelined with injuries, and a few others being rested. The selection process has become a significant concern for the selectors recently, as emerging talents swiftly adapt, prove their worth, and potentially secure their positions in the team in a short period.
Rohit Sharma emphasized the priority of the team’s collective objectives, acknowledging that, in the best interest of the team, certain players might have to be excluded from the playing XI. In an interaction with Jio Cinema after the final T20I against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma said,
“As far as Rahul Bhai and I are concerned, we have tried our best to maintain the clarity within the team and communicate clearly to the players as to why they are dropped. You cannot keep everyone happy. This is something I have learned while captaining the team. You have to focus on the team’s goals first,”
I spoke to Rahul Dravid bhai about the team’s plans and the approach- Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the T20I setup after a hiatus of 14 months during the home series. In his absence, players such as Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav took charge of leading the side. This period witnessed the induction of numerous young talents into the team, and they adhered to the aggressive playing style outlined by the team management.
“I was watching the games when I was out of the team, but I was not part of the playing team. So, I took the information from the coaching staff, and it was important to handle different situations for the players. Giving them overs where they are not comfortable bowling. Some are not comfortable bowling in the powerplay, while some are not comfortable in the death. So, we wanted to see how the guys can adapt, and I think we have ticked those boxes in this series,” Rohit Sharma added.
“We had discussed a lot of things prior to the series, and I was away from the team for a year as well. I spoke to Rahul bhai about the team’s plans, the approach and which players are we keeping an eye on, where we want them to and all of that,” the Indian Skipper continued.
The series against Afghanistan concluded with an exhilarating victory for Team India in the third T20I at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In a dramatic turn of events, the Men in Blue secured the win in the dead rubber by engaging in a second Super Over, as the initial attempts to resolve the contest ended in a tie.
Having a vast talent pool becomes a challenging prospect at times– Rohit Sharma
The unforgiving nature of contemporary cricket has resulted in the unfortunate exclusion of numerous deserving candidates from the team, often through no fault of their own. The responsibility cannot be attributed to the team management, as experienced and proven senior players consistently hold precedence in the team hierarchy.
“To an extent, having a vast talent pool becomes a challenging prospect at times. When we were focused on the ODI World Cup, the youngsters performed well in the T20s, and then when the main squad came, some young players had to sit out. It is disappointing for them, their thinking is that’ We have performed, and yet we are out of the team,” said Rohit Sharma.
The challenges in squad selection are expected to intensify as several players emerge from the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) in exceptional form. The ongoing dilemma of choosing between in-form players and those with valuable experience is likely to resurface as the team gears up for the 2024 T20 World Cup.