Former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi has questioned why the selectors are ignoring Shikhar Dhawan from the T20I squad as he can be a great fit at the top of the order in the World Cup. Dhawan has all the experience under his belt and he was in top form in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.
The southpaw had scored 168 runs in three matches against the Windies and played at the top of his game. Dhawan scored a fine knock of 97 runs in the first ODI and then contributed with 58 in the third game.
Meanwhile, it is well known that Dhawan has been a consistent performer in the major ICC events. In fact, Dhawan has also improved his strike rate in T20 cricket, which was an issue in the past. The left-hander scored 416 runs in 14 matches while playing for Punjab Kings in TATA IPL 2022.
However, India is spoiled for choices as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are expected to be the team’s opening pair for the T20 World Cup. Furthermore, they are players like Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rishabh Pant, who are waiting in the wings.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi said while talking to India News, “We need him (Dhawan) if we talk about the 50-over World Cup. But why not Shikhar Dhawan for the T20 World Cup, why not an experienced player, the sort of form that is being seen, the way his feet are moving, the fantastic fielding he is doing, Shikhar has presented an extremely strong case.”
“Shikhar Dhawan is a player who was down and out. There was not much talk about him a few months back, but it has been a fantastic turnaround because he is captaining in ODI cricket and the form he has caught, it seems he is a certainty.”
On the other hand, Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels Shikhar Dhawan still has a lot of fuel left in his tank and has presented a strong case for the ODI World Cup.
“His performance has been exceptional if we talk about ODI cricket. Shikhar Dhawan showed that he has a lot of cricket left in him and presented a strong case for next year’s World Cup.”
“I have been saying this for a long time that he is a very important player along with Rohit in the opening partnership for the World Cup. After this performance, the selectors will also be definitely encouraged to persist with Shikhar.”
Dhawan is not part of the T20I squad for the series against the West Indies.
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