"With the amount of talent that India has now, it is a difficult choice to make" - Graeme Smith on Rohit and Kohli's inclusion in the T20I squad
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes that shortlisting the Indian squad for the T20I World Cup will be a tough task for the selectors, considering the abundance of talent in contention for a spot.
The Men in Blue's upcoming home series against Afghanistan, which will be their final assignment in the shortest format before the tournament, has given some insight as to how the selectors want to proceed.
While some players are rested, the biggest takeaways from the squad came in the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's return to the T20I setup. When it comes to T20Is, the duo last played in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat against England at the Adelaide Oval. KL Rahul, whose last T20I appearance also came in the infamous 10-wicket defeat, was not considered by the selectors.
Speaking of the Indian squad and the selection of players, Graeme Smith was quoted by ANI saying:
"It's about balancing workloads and introducing new players at various times, giving opportunity to the player with the amount of cricket India plays. We have seen IPL produce a serious amount of talent for India in this format."
Team India played a five-match T20I series in the Caribbean in 2023 with the second-string squad, a series that they lost by a 3-2 margin. While the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) will be jointly hosting the tournament, the Men in Blue's group stage matches are scheduled to be held entirely in the USA.
"I think the selection panel and coaches have to figure out what stars they want and what squad they want to take from India to play on those types of pitches. We will have to see how they will compile the squad. With the amount of talent that India has now, it is a difficult choice to make. I think balancing some experience with youth .... also how they go about that," Smith added.
India's three-match home series against Afghanistan is scheduled to begin on January 11.
"I guess for me Test cricket is something we all want to protect" - Graeme Smith
The tussle between the formats trying to co-exist and take up the major share of the calendar has become a scary reality, with the introduction of franchise cricket complicating things to a great extent.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) recently sent shockwaves through the entire cricketing world by naming a second-string squad for their upcoming tour of New Zealand, scheduled for February as the first-team players will be seen participating in the second edition of the SA20 tournament, beginning from January 10.
"I guess for me Test cricket is something we all want to protect. T20 cricket is the growth in the future. LA2028 is a big push to attract other nations to grow in the game with WC around the corner. We want to see cricket grow and strong," Smith said
"I think cricket really has the opportunity to challenge football in terms of global sports. I am excited to see how that will go. LA28 is going to be a really interesting time to be a cricketer to be exposed to the Olympics," Smith concluded
Cricket finally won the battle against the Olympics after multiple setbacks in their journey. The successful implementation of the sport in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games played a huge role in the eventual decision that will bring it back to the biggest sporting event in the entire world.