IND vs SL 2023: I have not given up on T20 format – Rohit Sharma

With a shadow of doubt casting on his T20I future, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed he still has some fuel left in his tank for the shortest format of the game. Rohit could not deliver the goods in the T20 World Cup, barring one fifty against the Netherlands and then he was rested for the New Zealand tour.

Rohit made a return to action in the ODI series against Bangladesh but he was ruled out with a finger injury. The Indian skipper is now all set to lead in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, with the ultimate goal of preparing for the ODI World Cup.

Rohit hasn’t been in the best of forms and he will look to deliver in the 50-overs format. It wasn’t an ideal 2022 for the right-hander and he will look to turn the tables in 2023.

With Hardik Pandya leading in the T20I format in the absence of Rohit Sharma, many cricket experts feel it is the end of the road for the veteran in the shortest format but the Mumbai batter squashed such speculations.

“Firstly, it is not possible to play back-to-back matches. You need to give them (all format players) enough break. I definitely fall in that as well. We have three T20Is against New Zealand. We will see what happens after IPL. I have not decided to give up the format,” Rohit said on the eve of first ODI against Sri Lanka.

“It was made clear in the past that it’s a 50-over World Cup year for us. And for some of the guys it’s not possible to play all formats. If you look at the schedule, there were back-to-back matches. So we decided on looking at some players’ workload. We wanted to make sure that they get enough break time and manage them. I definitely fall in that category,” added Rohit.

Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah was added to the India’s ODI squad on January 3. However, the gun fast bowler was pulled out of the squad on Monday as he still hasn’t fully recovered.

“It was a very unfortunate incident with him. The poor guy has been working really hard at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Just when he got back to his full fitness and started bowling, in the last two days he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back. It is nothing major. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the World Cup,” said Rohit.

The first ODI will be played on Tuesday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.