“I remember we took Deepak Hooda…” - Rohit Sharma opens up on a tough decision taken before ICC T20 WC 2022

Former Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who is the brand ambassador for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, has strolled down memory lane on making some tough decisions while selecting players for the ICC mega events.

Speaking exclusively to JioHotstar, Rohit revealed how he and the former Indian head coach, Rahul Dravid, dealt with Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 squad, adding that it’s very important to communicate with the player on the reason behind his omission from the squad.

Ahead of the ICC T20 WC in 2022, India went ahead with the all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who replaced Shreyas Iyer in the T20I squad because of the former having a variety of skills. Notably, India got eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2022 WC after being trashed by England by 10 wickets.

“There have been many such instances of taking hard calls before World Cups. I think of Shreyas Iyer during the 2022 T20 World Cup. I still remember that we were playing in the West Indies. Rahul bhai and I always felt that if you are taking such calls, it is important for the individual to know why you are doing it," Rohit told JioHotstar.

"I remember we called Shreyas near the pool, and Rahul bhai and I both spoke to him about why he was not going to be part of that Asia Cup, followed by the T20 World Cup that was going to take place. We had to explain the reasoning to him,” he added.

“I remember we took Deepak Hooda then, and that was the only spot we had available. We felt we needed someone who could give us a little more with the ball, because in our top five or six, there were not many players who could bowl. So we wanted players with those multi-skills, and that is why we had to go with Hooda. He was in good form before that Asia Cup and World Cup, and based on the form he showed in the IPL and the way he was batting, I felt he could fit into our plans," said Rohit.

"Shreyas would have felt bad, Deepak would have been happy, but that is how it works. If someone else takes Deepak’s place in the future, then he would feel bad as well. As long as you have a valid reason and you explain it properly, that is fine,” he concluded.

India will kickstart their T20 WC 2026 campaign against the USA on Saturday, February 7, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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