Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara on Sunday backed Indian stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play ICC T20 World Cup to be held next year in the West Indies and USA, saying that the duo has a lot of experience of Caribbean conditions.
Rohit and Virat have not been part of India's T20I team since the last year's 10-wicket loss to England in ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semifinals in Australia in November.
Youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad among many are being tried out in their absence and prepared for the future.
Lara feels that no matter which team India picks, they will be a force to be reckoned with, but Virat and Rohit offer a lot of experience playing in the Caribbean.
"I think whichever team India picks, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. But you can't replace experience. What Virat and Rohit bring is a lot of experience. They know the conditions in the Caribbean. They have played there.
"I wouldn't say that they should dictate their future but I think the sort of players, the legends that they are in the game, I am almost sure there will be a lot of respect in finding out what they want to do, how far they want to push it and make the decision then," said Lara to ANI.
Statistically, Virat and Rohit are two of the best T20I batters ever. In 115 matches, Virat leads the run-scoring charts with 4,008 runs at an average of 52.73, with one century and 37 fifties. His best score is 122* and his strike rate is 137.96.
Rohit is the second-highest run-scorer in the format, scoring 3,853 runs at an average of 31.32 and a strike rate of 139.24. His best score is 118. He has four centuries and 29 fifties in the format.
In the Caribbean, Virat has played 33 international games, scoring 1,597 runs at an average of 49.90, with six centuries and seven fifties. His best score here is 200.
Similarly, Rohit in this region has played 29 international matches, scoring 1,004 runs at an average of 50.20, with one century and nine fifties. His best score is 103.
