“With the amount of talent that India has…”: Graeme Smith on inclusion of Kohli, Rohit in T20 World Cup team

Amid buzz over the availability of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the upcoming T20 World Cup, the former South Africa skipper and SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith said it will be a tough task for the Indian coaches and selection committee to balancing some experience with youth in the WC squad.

The senior duo of Kohli and Rohit made a comeback to India’s T20I setup for the first time since the end of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, in what is a major development for the side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. The tournament will kick off on June 1 and will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the US. India have been placed in Group A alongside Ireland, Pakistan, Canada and the US.

Many youngster have left their mark significantly in the T20I format for India making selection a thought task for the selectors. While Kohli has been in spectacular T20 form for India in the IPL, Rohit has struggled in the shorter format recently. They were India’s top two run scorers in the last ODI World Cup, scoring 765 and 597 runs, respectively.

Smith said that the India coaches and pannel have to analyse the talent they want in their T20 WC squad and with the amount of talent that India has now, it is a difficult choice to make.

“It’s about balancing workloads and introducing new players at various times, giving opportunity to the player with the amount of cricket India plays. We have seen IPL produce a serious amount of talent for India in this format. I think the selection panel and coaches have to figure out what stars they want and what squad they want to take from India to play on those types of pitches. We will have to see how they will compile the squad. With the amount of talent that India has now, it is a difficult choice to make. I think balancing some experience with youth …. also how they go about that,” Smith told ANI.

Last year International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that cricket will be a part of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 and will make its return after 128 years to the multi-sport extravaganza. The former South Africa captain said the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games is a big push to attract more countries to the game and it is a big chance for cricket to challenge football in terms of global sports.

“I guess for me Test cricket is something we all want to protect. T20 cricket is the growth in the future. LA2028 is a big push to attract other nations to grow in the game with WC around the corner. We want to see cricket grow and strong. I think cricket really have the opportunity to challenge football in terms of global sports. I am excited to see how that will go. LA28 is going to be a really interesting time to be a cricketer to be exposed to the Olympics,” former South Africa captain said.