Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh shared his views on the future of veteran batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in international cricket. Yuvraj Singh said that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should retire from T20I cricket after the 2024 T20 World Cup to be played in the West Indies and the USA.
Yuvraj Singh has been named as one of the brand ambassadors for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 alongside Chris Gayle and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt. He is expected to take part in various promotional events in the lead-up to the tournament, which is scheduled to take place from June 1-29.
The 42-year-old played a crucial role in India’s victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. The left-handed batsman scored 148 runs in six games at an average of 29.60 and an impressive strike rate of 194.74. During the tournament, he notably hit six sixes in one over against England’s Stuart Broad.
You forget your form – Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh stressed that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should decide on their retirement and not just based on age. The left-arm spinner refrained from giving a timeline for the duo’s retirement.
“As you get older, people start talking about your age and forget about your shape. These guys were great players for India and they deserve to go (retire) if they want to.” Yuvraj said as quoted by the ICC.
Kohli and Rohit made their comeback to the Indian T20I squad in January for the three-match series against Afghanistan, which was India’s last bilateral T20I series before the T20 World Cup. They only played one series after the semi-final loss to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
I would like to see more younger players in the T20 format – Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh stressed on including more young players in the T20 format after the World Cup. Singh stressed that this approach would ease the burden on experienced players who also take part in ODIs and Test matches.
“I would like to see more younger players in the T20 format because it takes the burden off them (experienced players) to play 50-overs (ODIs) and Test matches. After this (T20) World Cup, I would like to see a lot.” “Younger players come into the team and form the T20 team for the next World Cup,” Yuvraj further explained.
India have faced challenges in T20 World Cups since the 2007 edition, appearing in the final just once in the following seven tournaments. The Men in Blue are looking to end their ICC title drought. The Indian national cricket team last won the ICC trophy at the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.
Rohit Sharma will meet chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Rahul Dravid by May 1 to finalize the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup.
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