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Team India had a dreadful end to their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign as they faced hammering from England in the semifinals. The Rohit Sharma-led team was defeated by ten wickets as they failed to break the opening partnership between Alex Hales and Jos Buttler. With India getting completely outplayed by England, there are questions being raised.
While many are questioning the conservative approach India adopted while batting in the powerplays throughout the tournament, some are suggesting an overhaul in the T20I setup. And for that, senior players will have to announce retirements and make way for youngsters. A few names are popping up with age not on their side and captain Rohit Sharma is also among those names.
The other names include Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, and R Ashwin. As these players are in their mid-30s, they are expected to call it quits in the shortest format of the game and focus on ODIs and Tests. In the same regard, former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a bold prediction about the future of these senior players.
Panesar has claimed that quite a few senior players will soon be announcing their retirements. The former English cricketer said that while he expects Kohli to be there at the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma is certainly not going to stay for two more years. Panesar also said the same about Ashwin and Karthik.
"Rohit (Sharma), Dinesh Karthik and R Ashwin are the top names who could say goodbye to T20I cricket. The team management will surely have a meeting with these guys and will ask them about their plans...It's time these players make way for young player", he said.
"Virat is in great form. He is the fittest among all the Indian players. Age is just a number for Virat considering his super fitness. You may see him in the 2024 T20 World Cup. I am not seeing Rohit being part of that tournament, DK and Ashwin too (may not be there). There could be more players (considering T20I retirement), but these three, I think, will leave T20Is and focus on Tests and ODIs", he further added.
Notably, Kohli ended the tournament as the highest scorer with 296 runs against his name and also became the first player to do so in multiple World T20s (2014 and 2022). Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma (116 runs in six innings), R Ashwin (6 wickets in six matches), and Dinesh Karthik (14 runs in 4 matches) had forgettable outings.