'Why are you not asking about Jadeja's absence from T20Is?' Rohit Sharma on T20 World Cup 2024 ambitions

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India captain Rohit Sharma gave a blunt reply on being asked about Virat Kohli and his absence from the T20I squad since India's defeat in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Hardik Pandya has been leading the Indian T20I side in the absence of Rohit and though there isn't an official announcement, it is being believed that the all-rounder would be the one leading the Men in Blue during the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and the USA.

However, for a second time in a week, 36-year-old Rohit showcased his ambition to feature in the mega event which will be played in June next year. Earlier this week during an event in USA, he told fans he was looking forward to the T20 World Cup 2024 in the country. Now he has explained why senior players aren't playing in the shortest format for India.

He first quipped about the media not talking about Ravindra Jadeja who also hasn't played in T20Is since last year. He then explained that workload management was in focus as the ODI World Cup in October this year was round the corner. He also asserted that India have already lost a lot of key players to injuries at crucial junctures in the last two years.

"Last year we did the same thing. The T20 World Cup was there, so we didn't play one-day cricket. Now we are also doing the same, the ODI World Cup is there, so we are not playing T20s," Rohit said.

"You can't play everything and be ready for the World Cup. We decided this two years ago. Jadeja is also not playing T20. You did not ask about him? I understand about the focus... but Jadeja is also not playing," he added.

"It is a World Cup year; we want to keep everyone fresh; already we had so many injuries in the team that I am scared of injuries now. We had a discussion with the BCCI also that we need to look after the players well.

"A couple of our key players missed some big events in the last two years and we don't want that," he said.

India played the T20 World Cup 2021 without Shreyas Iyer. They missed the services of Jasprit Bumrah during last year's Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. The team was without KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 in June this year.