Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli© AFP
Former Indian cricket team star Robin Uthappa believes that senior players should have taken a back seat and India should have opted for young talents in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. The ongoing IPL 2024 has seen multiple young cricketers producing brilliant performances and he cited the examples of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma to show that their good run of form did not translate into their selection for the tournament. Uthappa was asked about the exclusion of Gill and Rinku Singh from the 15-member squad and he said that the senior cricketers should have moved on after the 2022 T20 World Cup and this year, the team should have gone with youngsters who are in good touch.
“I’m gonna catch a lot of flak for this, but I’ll take it. I think they should’ve moved on after the previous World Cup itself,” Uthappa said while speaking on JioCinema.
“I think the youngsters should’ve played in this World Cup. The senior players have had their go, and these guys are showing true potential. The fact that they’ve been performing in IPL consistently… a lot of these guys who are performing now, the likes of Shubman Gill should be there,” Uthappa added.
Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian cricket team in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 with Hardik Pandya serving as his deputy. Veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal made a sensational comeback to the side with Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel being the other spin options.
KL Rahul was a big exclusion from the side with the team management choosing two specialist wicket-keeper batters in Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma explained that they were looking at wicket-keeping options who can bat in the middle order.
However, KL Rahul played as an opener for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024.
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