Will Virat Kohli play T20 World Cup 2024? Jay Shah's statement raises eyebrows

Rohit Sharma will be leading India's pack in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, slated to start from June 2. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed the explosive development on the sidelines of the ceremony to rename the SCA Stadium after former board secretary Niranjan Shah on February 14 in Saurashtra ahead of India versus England's third Test. While Rohit Sharma has been the captain of Team India in all three formats, it was believed that since the 2022 T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya would take over the captaincy role in the shortest format. However, Jay Shah has put all speculations to rest. 

However, a uncertainty around Virat Kohli's participation in the T20 World Cup 2024 still persists. Jay Shah was queried about Kohli's participation, but no clear answer was provided. Notably, Kohli made his comeback to the T20Is in January 2024 and played two matches against Afghanistan. 

What did Jay Shah say on Kohli's T20 World Cup participation?

When asked about Virat Kohli's participation in the T20 World Cup, Jay Shah simply said they would discuss it. He didn't give any indication that the former captain would be part of the upcoming World Cup. However, he also didn't say that Virat wouldn't play. Jay Shah's response has only added another layer to already existing speculation about the uncertainty of the India's batting maestro for the T20 World Cup 2024.

“We will talk about Virat Kohli later,” Jay Shah told reporters.

No Kohli post 2022 T20 World Cup

Following the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli had distanced himself from this format. He has been only featuring for Tests and ODIs for Team India. Kohli's stretched absence from the shortest format of the game left everyone wondering that perhaps he wouldn't participate in the T20 World Cup 2024. However, Kohli's return in the recently-concluded T20I series against Afghanistan series put all speculations to rest. But it's still not clear whether he will feature in the showpiece event or not. Kohli has currently pulled out of the ongoing Test series against England citing personal reasons. However, he might be seen playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2024. Notably, Virat holds the record for the most runs in T20Is. He is the only batter to have scored over 4000 runs in T20 internationals.

Notably, T20 World Cup is set to start from June 2 and will be played in the United States of America (USA) and the Caribbean across different venues. In the group stages of the 2024 T20 World Cup, India are scheduled to compete against Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and the co-hosts, USA.

The tournament will kick off with USA facing Canada in the opening match on June 2, and the grand finale is set to take place on June 29 in Barbados. The intense rivalry between India and Pakistan will unfold in New York City on June 9.

Meanwhile, Jay Shah commented on Kohli's absence from the ongoing Test series against England and said,"If somebody is asking for a personal leave in 15 years then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not that kind of a player that he would ask for a leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players".

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