Ajit Agarkar to meet Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in West Indies, ask them to focus on Test and ODI cricket only

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Chief selector Ajit Agarkar is set to travel to the West Indies and join Team India during the second Test in Port of Spain from Thursday, July 20. The former pacer is expected to be with the Indian team through the following 3-match ODI and 5-match T20I series.

A discussion with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over their T20I future is among one of the main agendas for Agarkar. The duo haven't been picked for the T20I series against West Indies and Agarkar is set to ask Kohli and Rohit to focus on Test and ODI cricket only.

Ever since India's defeat in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022, the two senior players have not been included in the T20I squad. Hardik Pandya has been leading a young Indian team in the format. The selectors have made up their mind to prepare a young team for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and US.

“The time to bring in young blood in the T20 set up is overdue. They need enough opportunities and exposure before the big event to settle into their roles. Agarkar will make it clear to both Rohit and Kohli that they should concentrate on ODI and Test cricket,” a source told The Telegraph.

Discussion over the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah is also on the cards during Agarkar's first meeting with Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid. The gun pacer has not played any form of cricket since September last year. He underwent a back surgery in March and has been spending time in rehabilitation at the NCA where he is reported to bowl full-throttle now.

There have been reports that Bumrah could make a comeback with the Ireland T20Is in August, however, the NCA has made it mandatory for every player to play domestic cricket first after a long injury lay-off. West Zone matches in Deodhar Trophy 2023 can give Bumrah that opportunity but the NCA wants to initially limit his workload to four overs per match.

Given the circumstances, the NCA may have to make an exception or organise some practice matches before giving the 29-year-old pacer a clearance for Ireland tour.

Further, fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer would also be a topic of discussion. In case they don't turn up for the Asia Cup 2023, a tough call on their inclusion in the World Cup 2023 squad without adequate match practice would have to be taken.