First T20I between IND and AFG: Highlights of powerplay virtuoso Rohit Sharma as attention turns to the T20 World Cup 2024. With his return to the Indian T20I squad, Rohit Sharma will captain the group against Afghanistan during their three-match T20I series.
On Thursday, January 11, the T20I series opener will take place at Mohali’s PCA Stadium. In the game’s shortest format, India has a perfect record against Afghanistan, winning four of their five meetings with one ending in a draw.
Rohit will be playing for India in white-ball cricket for the first time since Australia defeated him in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. In 2024, Rohit, who shone at the World Cup, hopes to maintain his exceptional white-ball performance.
ROHIT’S LATEST RECORD IN WHITE BALL
When it comes to white-ball cricket, Rohit has been really proficient. He was only surpassed by Virat Kohli of India as the second-highest scoring in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
In 11 games, the “Hitman” scored 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and a strike percentage of 125.94. Along with his three fifties and one century, he also regularly gave India an early advantage in the powerplay overs.
The 2024 T20 World Cup is only a few months away, thus he will need to repeat his ODI World Cup performance in T20I cricket. In June, the USA and the West Indies will host the T20 World Cup.
India’s campaign against Ireland will kick off on June 5 and is part of Group A, which also includes the USA, Canada, Ireland, and Pakistan.
ROHIT’S DIFFICULTIES IN T20
In the 50-over format, Rohit has been hitting all the right notes, but in T20 cricket, his form hasn’t been as good. With an average of 20.75 and a strike rate of 132.80, the former captain of the Mumbai Indians failed to score runs in the 2023 Indian Premier League, achieving just 250 in 16 matches.
The last time Rohit played Twenty20 International cricket for India was in 2022, when they were defeated by England in the T20 World Cup semifinal.
He has only scored 176 runs and one half-century in his last ten Twenty20 international matches for India. He averaged 19.33 and struck at 106.42 at the 2022 T20 World Cup, but he only managed to score 116 runs.
CAN ROHIT GLEAM IN THE RENOVATED SETUP?
After more than a year away, Rohit is making his T20I comeback, and he’ll be a part of an upgraded Indian team. With the addition of Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal to the T20I team, Rohit will be batting against an entirely different group of players than he did in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
With Jaiswal, who has been playing brilliantly over the past year, he is anticipated to begin the batting. In Test cricket, the two hitters have already taken to opening roles and have developed a certain bond. In the event that Rohit can rediscover his T20I form this year, the left-right opening combination may also prove beneficial for India.
“I believe there is no doubt in our minds that individuals like Rohit and Virat, with their caliber and expertise, would be able to uncover solutions. They will be able to discover answers regardless of the form they are in or the style they are playing.
IN SEARCH OF A LAST HURRAH
Rohit will be hoping to advance farther in the 2024 T20 World Cup after failing at the last hurdle in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The first captain from India to win a T20 World Cup is MS Dhoni, who did so in the competition’s first year in 2007.
The Men in Blue haven’t won an ICC trophy in more than ten years, therefore their performance in ICC competitions has really been nothing to write home about. With this drought coming to an end, Rohit wants to leave his mark on Indian cricket history.
