The T20 World Cup this year will likely see the presence of both, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, in India's 15-member squad. Both players have been impressive in the ongoing IPL so far, even as Kohli's performance in Thursday night's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad came under significant scanner due to a low strike rate (51 off 43 balls). Regardless, the 35-year-old RCB star continues to hold the Orange Cap for the season.

Rohit and Kohli were away from the shortest format in international cricket ever since last year's T20 World Cup, remaining absent throughout 2023. However, the two stalwarts made a comeback to the side earlier this year during the side's T20I series against Afghanistan; while Kohli had a quiet outing, Rohit smashed a brilliant century after two successive ducks in the series.

With the upcoming World Cup being played at traditionally sluggish Caribbean pitches – as well as the untested USA surfaces – many believe India would need their two batting greats for the tournament. Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh believes the same, but addressed the post-T20 World Cup future for Rohit and Kohli in great detail.

Yuvraj warned the batting duo that there will be significant attention on their age – regardless of their form – as they get older. He believes India should be focussing on forging a team for the future, hinting that Kohli and Rohit should remove themselves from contention for T20I spots once the World Cup ends.

"As you get older people start talking about your age and they forget about your form," Yuvraj told ICC.

"These guys have been great players for India and they deserve to go (retire) when they want.

"I would like to see more younger players in the T20 format, because it gets the load off them (experienced players) playing 50-over (ODIs) and Test matches.

“After this (T20) World Cup I would like to see a lot of younger guys come into the team and make the T20 side for the next World Cup.”

Yuvraj had been one of India's most prominent stars in ICC tournaments, playing a key role in both, the T20 World Cup (2007) and ODI World Cup (2011) victories. He was a regular member of the side till late 2012, following which a series of inconsistent performances cost him a place in the side. He made a brief comeback to the white-ball squads following Virat Kohli's ascension to captaincy, but eventually lost his place again in 2017.

T20 World Cup squad to be announced in coming days

With May 1 being the deadline, Indian captain Rohit Sharma is expected to meet the chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Rahul Dravid to finalise the 15-member squad for the marquee tournament in the USA and the West Indies. A number of players have emerged for contention to various spots during the IPL season, making the 15-member squad highly awaited among fans and experts alike.

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