BCCI source gives big update on Rohit Sharma's future in T20Is, says "Unlikely he will..."
New Delhi, Nov 22: India's ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma is unlikely to play T20 Internationals anymore and had discussed his future in the shortest format before the start of the 50-over World Cup, according to sources in the BCCI.
Rohit hasn't played a single game in the shortest format since India's T20 World Cup semi-final exit in November 2022. Hardik Pandya has mostly led the Indian team in T20Is since then.
The 36-year-old India skipper has played 148 T20Is scoring 3853 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 140 with four hundreds.
"It is not a new development. Rohit hasn't played any T20Is in past one year as the focus was on ODI World Cup. He had extensive discussions with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar in this regard. He has himself volunteered to stay away from T20Is. It has completely been Rohit's call," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
After Rohit, India have four openers -- Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad -- and all of them are proven IPL performers.
If the younger crop does not perform, the selectors or the BCCI brass might just ask Rohit to reconsider his current stand.
It is understandable that at this stage of his career, Rohit would like to manage his workload and ensure that he remains mostly injury free for the remainder of his career.
It will be impossible to play three formats and IPL each year and with seven Test to be played between December 2023 to March 2024, the Indian skipper's focus will be mostly on red-ball cricket.
He still has a realistic chance of leading India to another World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2025 and his own form in traditional format has been superb since he started opening for India in 2019.
Bumrah, Shami to be rotated during England Tests
If all goes well, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead the attack in two-Test series in South Africa with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
However with five Tests in five weeks against England scheduled early next year, the pace trio will be rotated during the series.
After his long injury-forced break from competitive cricket due to lower back stress fracture, there were question marks over Bumrah's ability to play red ball cricket but those in the know of things said that the Gujarat man is ready for his comeback.
"Bumrah is fighting fit and results were there for everyone to see. He is back at his peak fitness and is itching to play the Test matches. With Bumrah and Shami, you need to use them based on what is the priority format at a given time. Bumrah will certainly play T20 World Cup if all goes well," the BCCI source added.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
