Rohit Sharma, who took the reigns of India’s T20 captaincy from Virat Kohli, has said the star batsman will continue to play an important role in the team. Kohli, who relinquished captaincy of the shorter format following the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup in United Arab Emirates, has decided to rest for India’s T20 series against New Zealand which starts with the first match in Jaipur on November 17. Kohli has also decided to sit out the first test against the Kiwis.

“Whatever he has been doing, his role will be the same. He is a very important player for the team. Based on games we are playing, roles will keep changing. When he comes back, it will only strengthen us, “Rohit Sharma said while addressing a virtual press conference along with coach Rahul Dravid.

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“When you are batting first, the role is different compared to when you are batting second. Based on games that we are playing, roles will keep changing and everyone is open to that.” The kind of experience that Kohli brings into the T20 set-up will only add to their strength.

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“I am sure when Virat comes back, it will only strengthen our team because of the experience and the kind of batsman he is, it’s only going to add up to our squad.”

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Sharma said workload management was very important as taking off time for players is necessary. “Freshness of players is extremely important. We want all the players to be fresh for the challenges ahead,” he said.

This was also Dravid’s first conference after he replaced Ravi Shastri as the coach of the Indian cricket team.

Dravid and Sharma both spoke about the need for India to follow their own template for T20Is instead of mimicking other teams. Dravid also made it clear that there was no need for separate teams for separate formats.