Former India chief selector Sandeep Patil has admitted that he finds it hard to understand why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stepped away from T20I cricket while they continued to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

The two Indian greats retired from T20Is after guiding the Men in Blue to the 2024 T20 World Cup title. The two players announced their retirement from Test cricket earlier this year when they both did so in the same month. The players maintain their ability to perform strongly in both IPL matches and ODI cricket.

Patil commented: "It puzzles me. Two greats, two legends, retire from the T20 format, but they are available to play the Indian Premier League (IPL). I don’t understand… they could have played T20 cricket for India and figured in the IPL. That would be something we all would’ve accepted."

India are competing in the ongoing T20 World Cup without Rohit and Kohli. This marks the team's first ICC tournament appearance in 19 years without the two former captains.

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Patil also supported the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for leaving Shubman Gill out of the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. The 1983 World Cup winner expressed sympathy for Gill but said the current team composition prevented his selection.

Sandeep Patil Also added: "I feel sad for Gill, but he just doesn’t find a place in this team. Who are you going to drop? While discussing selection, we only talk about players, but we should also look at combinations," 

India began their 2026 T20 World Cup journey with a 29-run victory over a determined USA side at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav and his team will next take on Namibia on Thursday February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.