Former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan talked about the future of Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the T20Is. Muralitharan said that if there’s a desire in him he should play in the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to take place in June next year.

There have been a lot of talks about the future of Rohit Sharma in the T20Is. Since the T20 World Cup 2024, the batter hasn’t played any game for India in the shortest format of the game. In his absence, Hardik Pandya has captained the side and has played with young teams.

Recently a report in PTI suggested that Rohit Sharma himself has expressed that he won’t play T20Is as he wants the youngsters to continue. With T20 World Cup 2024 set to take place next year, there have been a lot of speculations about him taking part in the tournament.

Rohit Sharma showed great form in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2023 and batted with an aggressive approach. Based on that reports related to the Indian captain not playing in T20Is raised quite a few eyebrows and even many fans and pundits batted for him to play in the shortest format of the game.

Muttiah Muralitharan talked about the same, saying that he can play another World Cup if he pushes his fitness like Virat Kohli. The legendary spinner highlighted Rohit Sharma’s performance in the World Cup 2023 and said that until both the greats of Indian cricket are fit they should continue. Speaking to Hindustan Times, he explained:

“You look at his ODI World Cup performance. The starts he gave, the kind of strike rates he batted at. He never failed in the tournament. And he’s only 36, that’s young. He can play another World Cup if he pushes his fitness like Virat. Why are people taking such harsh calls that it is the right time to go and bring youngsters. Until they are fit and performing, let them play.”

I think he’ll definitely play another World Cup – Muttiah Muralitharan on Rohit Sharma

Muttiah Muralitharan further highlighted Rohit Sharma’s strike rate in the World Cup 2023, saying that he will be playing in the next tournament as well. He elaborated:

“Rohit batted with a strike rate of 130 in ODIs, which is not bad for T20. He’s an experienced player. You just have to work harder on your fitness after 35. If the desire is there, he’ll play. I think he’ll definitely play another World Cup. It’s on his mind.”

Rohit Sharma isn’t part of the Indian team for the ongoing T20I series. It remains to be seen if he will be part of the team that will travel to South Africa for the T20I series.