Rohit Sharma’s T20I future in focus ahead of South Africa tour | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: As Indian cricket gets ready for a reset after the World Cup, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and national selectors are due to have a conversation with Rohit Sharma over his white-ball future when they sit down, on Thursday, to pick the team for India’s tour of South Africa.
The Indian team is scheduled to leave for South Africa on December 6 for three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches.It has emerged that the selectors would be happy if the India captain decides to prolong his T20I career after sitting out of the format for a year now. Rohit had earlier expressed that he was quite content if he wasn’t picked for T20Is.
According to sources, Hardik Pandya‘s regular breakdowns have become a cause of concern for selectors and the team management. With the T20I World Cup in June next year, selectors are seeking stability in leadership. Pandya’s recovery from an ankle injury during the recent World Cup is taking longer than expected.

The star allrounder, who recently made headlines following an all-cash transfer from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians, is likely to be fit only in time for the IPL. That would mean that if Pandya remains T20I captain, he will be leading India directly in the T20 World Cup.
The team management had decided to move on from the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in T20Is after the semifinal exit in the T20 World Cup in 2022. Rohit had made peace with the arrangement. Kohli has reportedly taken an indefinite break from white-ball international cricket. With the focus on the T20 World Cup, it will be interesting to see how many of the senior pacers are picked for the white-ball leg of the SA tour.
Mukesh has edge over Prasidh
It is understood that there could be a toss-up between Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna for the fifth pacer’s spot in the Test team. Prasidh had been identified as replacement for Ishant Sharma but the injury-prone pacer has got few opportunities to cement his place in Tests. Mukesh’s evolution has been particularly impressive and it could tilt things in his favour.
There will be discussions on whether KL Rahul can be considered as a second wicket-keeping option after Ishan Kishan or whether KS Bharat will get another tour.
As TOI reported on November 22, this tour is likely to see the selectors moving on from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.