Gavaskar backs Rohit and Kohli to play T20 World Cup in June, says they're still terrific fielders
New Delhi, Jan 6: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has backed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play in the T20 World Cup in June, saying the two senior players are not only the key batters but also terrific fielders in the Indian team.
Both Rohit and Kohli have not played a T20I since India's semifinal loss to England at the 2022 T20 World Cup but the duo is keen to return to the shortest format.
"What makes me feel good is their fielding. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still great fielders and will be of great help on the field. In addition to seniority in the dressing room, they will contribute on the field, too," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"Sometimes, you get slow when you are 35-36; your throw isn't that good anymore. So, there are discussions over where to keep you while setting the field. That's not a problem for these two because they are still terrific fielders," he added.
The T20 World Cup is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 1-29.
In Rohit's absence, Hardik Panya has led the Indian team in T20Is. The all-rounder had also taken over as the Mumbai Indians' captaincy form Rohit.
Whether Rohit will lead India in the shortest format if included in the team is yet to be known. But given Rohit's experience, he will still have a lot to offer despite not leading the side, according to Gavaskar.
"We don't know if Rohit will be captain, but whatever the case, any captain will surely benefit from that.
"Kohli's form has been outstanding in the last 1.5 years. He played unbelievably in the 2023 World Cup, making 750 runs with 3 centuries. So there is no doubt about his limited-overs batting," he added.
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan also feels that Rohit and Kohli should be a part of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup as a few pitches in the USA and the West Indies are unknown commodities and the duo's experience will be required on and off the field.
"Personally, I would like to see Virat on the pitch because when we talk about two years back, definitely he was not in his best form. But the last IPL and T20 were one of the most amazing tournaments for him," said Pathan.
"Playing both the players also depends upon team management and their fitness, but I would love seeing both of them on the field, especially when Rohit has also changed his form and has been making a lot of runs in one-day cricket," added Pathan.
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Rahul on compromised mission, has links with pro-Pak elements: Nitin Nabin
Patna (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of undertaking foreign visits without informing central security agencies, and having close links with “anti-India and pro-Pakistan” elements.
Nabin charged Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, with being on a “compromised mission” that began with his great grandfather and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and “continued through generations”.
The BJP president’s comments come amid a row over the Indian Youth Congress activists staging a shirtless protest at the AI Summit in Delhi last week, with the slogan “PM is compromised”, an allusion to the proposed trade deal with the US allegedly under pressure from the Donald Trump administration
“Today, I wish to expose the compromised mission of the Nehru-Gandhi family, which has traded national interests for personal gains. I wish to expose Rahul Gandhi, who is trutting about like a babbar sher (lion),” the 45-year-old Bihar MLA, who was made the BJP president a month ago, told reporters.
Nabin raked up Nehru’s alleged reference to the country’s burgeoning population as a “liability” and the defeat in the 1962 war with China, and charged Indira Gandhi with “giving up Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, after defeating Pakistan in 1971” as examples of the “compromised mission”.
He also alleged that Rajiv Gandhi, the father of Rahul and a former Prime Minister, had made use of the Bofors gun deal to “fatten up his personal bank balance”.
“The compromised mission continued under Rahul’s mother Sonia Gandhi, who functioned as a ‘super prime minister’ from 2004 to 2014, compromising the authority of the top constitutional post,” the BJP president asserted.
Nabin slammed Rahul Gandhi for “undertaking 247 foreign visits, without informing security agencies back home”.
“All this has been a part of Rahul Gandhi’s compromised mission,” said Nabin who also accused the Rae Bareli MP of having close links with “anti-India, pro-Pakistan and China” elements abroad, including billionaire George Soros, US Congress member Ilhan Omar and Kenyan financier Shakir Merali.
“Rahul Gandhi is a poster boy of negative politics. But the people of the country, especially the youth, have seen through his game and they will not be misled by his rhetoric,” Nabin added.
