Jay Shah. (Source – Getty Images)
Virat Kohli’s strike rate was heavily criticised during IPL 2024. So much so that there were reports of him getting dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma’s numbers in IPL cricket were concerning. He hit a century but consistency was a major issue. In short, there were doubts about the senior India cricketers and whether or not, they can create an impact in the shortest format of the game.
In the mega tournament, skipper Rohit led from the front, playing a vital role in India’s success against England in the semi-final while Kohli was adjudged Player of the Match for his impactful knock in the final against South Africa. After India’s triumph, BCCI secretary Jay Shah pointed out the experience Rohit and Virat bring to the table and how they have helped India win its second T20 world title.
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“It was same captain last year and same here in Barbados. We won all games except the final in 2023 as Australia played better. This time we worked even harder and played better to win the title. If you look at other teams, experience counts. From Rohit to Virat, all excelled. Experience makes a lot of difference, in World Cups you can’t experiment much also,” Shah was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“A good player knows when to say goodbye to the game, we saw that yesterday. You look at Rohit’s strike rate, it is better than a lot of young players,” he added.
New head coach will join from Sri Lanka series: Shah
Rahul Dravid’s tenure with the national team ended after the T20 World Cup campaign. BCCI had held talks with a couple of former cricketers about the new head coach role and Shah confirmed that the appointment would be done before India’s series against Sri Lanka. He also confirmed that NCA chief VVS Laxman will travel with the team for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
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“Both coach and selector appointment will be made shortly. CAC has interviewed and shortlisted two names and after reaching Mumbai whatever they have decided we will go by that. VVS Laxman is going to Zimbabwe but new coach will join from Sri Lanka series,” Shah said.