It has been reported that Virat Kohli has given the BCCI notice that he will not be available for selection in white-ball matches going forward. This essentially means he won’t be playing in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January. Or the white-ball portion of India’s next tour to South Africa. Kohli has chosen to focus on red-ball cricket for the time being. Kohli will only play the two Test matches in South Africa rather than the ODIs and T20Is. A BCCI source told The Indian Express.
Virat Kohli informs BCCI about indefinite break from ODIs, T20Is
“Kohli has informed the BCCI and selectors that he needs a break from white-ball cricket. And he will get back to them about when he wants to play white-ball cricket next. At the moment he has informed the BCCI that he will be playing red-ball cricket. Which means Kohli is available for selection for the two Test matches in South Africa,” the source said.
However, it is unclear if India captain Rohit Sharma will be available for the South Africa tour’s white-ball leg. Since the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, neither Rohit nor Kohli have played T20 cricket. However, with the World Cup scheduled for June of next year, there have been discussions about whether or not they would like to return for one last chance to win an ICC trophy. Furthermore, given that the T20 World Cup is just six months away, it is only right to ask Rohit to lead India’s attack. There given the kind of performance he had at the bat during the World Cup and his leadership abilities.
However, given the current situation, it appears doubtful that Rohit and Kohli will play in T20Is going forward. Their future in ODIs actually appears to be very bleak. In any case, India’s white-ball schedule is pretty light until the T20 World Cup.
Their schedule consists of three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) to begin in South Africa, a pair of Test matches, and then the same number of ODIs. For those two matches, it is almost a given that Rohit and Kohli will wear the whites. They have a three-match home T20I series against Afghanistan scheduled for their next white-ball assignment. After that, nothing exists. After an England Test tour of India, the IPL and the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA will come next.
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