Reports: Rohit Sharma immediately reports to practice following his delayed flight from Mohali, bypassing the hotel.

On Thursday, January 11, at the Punjab Cricket Association’s IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, the first encounter of the three-match series between India and Afghanistan will feature the return of India skipper Rohit Sharma to the Twenty20 international team after a 14-month absence. Despite being included in the squad, Virat Kohli will not play in the opening match for personal reasons.

As India looks to wrap up their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024, the skipper will have to bear the brunt of leading the inexperienced batting lineup in Kohli’s absence. Though Rohit Sharma chartered aircraft to Mohali was delayed, his comeback hasn’t started off as anticipated.

As a result, the captain of India made the decision, according to a Dainik Jagran article, to head directly from the Chandigarh airport to the IS Bindra Stadium and participate in the practice session rather than staying at the hotel. Along with stretching, the 36-year-old went on a pitch inspection with head coach Rahul Dravid. Along with talking with the team’s younger members, he also engaged in some throwdowns.

Notably, Rohit Sharma last T20I match was in the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal, where England defeated India by 10 wickets in a devastating loss for India. With a strike rate of 106.42 and an average of 19.33 across six innings, the Nagpur-born batsman had a terrible tournament at bat.

The second-highest run scorer in T20Is is Rohit Sharma.

Though he has amassed 3853 runs from 140 innings at an average of 31.32 and a strike rate of 139.24, with a joint-record four hundred, his record in Twenty20 Internationals speaks for itself. He is the second-highest run scorer in the format. Therefore, in the forthcoming series leading up to the T20 World Cup 2024, the Indian captain will try to acclimate himself to the fast-paced game of T20Is once more.