Team India: Rohit-Virat returns to the T20 team, but Rahul, who is in excellent form, did not get a place; Know the reason

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the Indian team for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan. Many fans are excited to see players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Sanju Samson in the team, but many are disappointed with wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul not getting a chance. Lokesh Rahul was ready to play at any position, but despite his excellent form, he has not been selected for the team.

Rahul was one of the best performers for India on the South Africa tour, scoring a century on the difficult pitch of Centurion. However, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar did not give him a place in the T20 team for the Afghanistan tour.

Why was KL Rahul not selected?

Lokesh Rahul has played most of the matches as an opening batsman in his T20 career. However, in the match against West Indies, he scored a century while playing at number four, but after this, he opened the innings for IPL and India also. He is doing wonders in the middle order in ODI and Test, but in both these formats, he is not required to hit sixes from the very first ball, whereas in T20, the same is expected from the number five and six batsmen.

The Indian team already has two opening batsmen in the form of Shubhman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. With the arrival of Rohit Sharma, someone will have to lose his place. Virat's return to the team confirms his place at number three. At the same time, Suryakumar Yadav is certain to play at number four. He is not playing in this series and players like Tilak Verma-Rinku Singh have confirmed their place in the middle order.

After the return of Hardik Pandya, one of them will have to lose his place. Whereas, if we talk about the wicketkeeper, the team management is looking for an option who can play the role of finisher. Lokesh Rahul is not the right choice for this responsibility. Jitesh Sharma or Sanju Samson have done this. For this reason, both of them have been given preference over Rahul. In IPL 2024, Lokesh Rahul can play the role of finisher for his team and strengthen his claim for the wicketkeeper's spot in the T20 World Cup team.

Lokesh Rahul will have to play this role for his franchise Lucknow Super Giants and ensure that he performs well if he wants to make it to India's T20 World Cup squad. There is not much clarity on the absence of Ishan Kishan. The wicketkeeper-batsman sought leave from the Test series against South Africa due to 'personal reasons'. It is not yet known what was the reason behind his withdrawal and when will he be next available.

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