After a hiatus of a year and two months since the 2022 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returned to India's T20 side for the ongoing series against Afghanistan. Clearly, the coach and selectors want them in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June, scheduled to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the US.
The question is whether that gives India the best chance to win the title that has eluded them since the inaugural one in 2007. It may seem preposterous to think of dropping the two icons, but it wouldn't be the first time that seniors have made way for the young guns in this slam-bang format of cricket.
Come to think of it, none of India's "Fab Four" of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman featured in India's World Cup-winning T20 side in 2007. They opted out, ostensibly to conserve their energies for the longer formats of the game, little knowing that T20s would storm the world of cricket.
Fortuitously, it opened the door for 26-year-old MS Dhoni to lead the side and 20-year-old Rohit Sharma to show his strike power. That they brought home the trophy was proof of the pudding.
While it was a shot in the dark in 2007, with the seniors staying away, now in 2024 it can be a move informed by evidence. The Indian Premier League (IPL) season preceding this year's World Cup will showcase the country's T20 talent. If performance takes precedence over reputation and past glories, the young guns could challenge Kohli and Sharma for their places in the T20 World Cup squad.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What the IPL auction holds for franchises
Player retentions revealed their thinking; now team owners have to make the most of what remains in the purse
Donald Trump has got the driver swing
It looks wild, but President elect Donald Trump is totally in control of his golf swing
Kalonji, the tiny seeds that pack a punch
Here's one ingredient that features in both my kitchen and bathroom cabinet: kalonji.
All you need to know about Gesha
The ultra-smooth, super premium Gesha coffee, with origins in Ethiopia, is winning fans in India
The science and art of menu creation
While seasons, produce quality and creativity are key, it is the patron who decides the success or failure of a menu
Women who travel for wellness
Women dealing with mid-career and mid-life decisions are turning to healing programmes tailored by women
The sound of wellness
Singing bowls. Sound gardens. Silent clubs. A wave of wellness and lifestyle trends and community initiatives are using sound-and the lack of it-to be heard over the constant buzz of a noisy, overstimulated world
A counterintuitive view on education
A book about Shomie Das, principal of three posh schools, serves as a rich distillation of his thoughts on education
The loss of sound in our noisy lives
Sound memory fades faster than visual memory. In a world as rapidly changing as ours, a museum of endangered sounds makes sense
A whole new League
When Arcane first dropped on Netflix, it didn't just break the mold for animated television—it shattered it into shiny fragments, each as intricate as the show's hand-painted aesthetic.
