With ODI World Cup 2023 just two months away, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been sidelined from India's T20 side with Hardik Pandya leading the pack of the Men in Blue. With key men such as KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer unavailable in the lead-up to the World Cup, Rohit said he is scared of injuries now but stressed on the importance of resting the players.


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Interestingly, Kohli and Rohit last played a T20 game for India in the World Cup this year. It was the semifinal against England where they lost and failed to make it to the finals of the tournament. With numerous speculations on the cards about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been sidelined from the T20 side keeping the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind, the Indian skipper shared why they have been missing from the lineup.


"Last year also we did the same thing, the T20 World Cup was there, so we didn't play one-day cricket. Now also we are doing the same, the ODI World Cup is there, so we are not playing T20s," he said to PTI. ((Latest Cricket News: How Has Hardik Pandya's India Performed In T20 Format In Absence Of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma))


"You can't play everything and be ready for the World Cup. We decided this two years ago. (Ravindra) Jadeja is also not playing T20, you did not ask about him? I understand about the focus (on himself and Virat). But Jadeja is also not playing," Rohit said in reply to a query about him and Kohli missing India's recent T20 assignments.


"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," he continued.


Rohit revealed that the team management had a discussion with the BCCI on the aspect of managing the workload of players.


"We had a discussion with the BCCI also that we need to look after the players well. Whenever we have an opportunity to rest players, we will rest players and rotate them. We don't want anyone to miss the key events. A couple of our key players missed some big events in the last two years and we don't want that," he said.