Shikhar Dhawan was not dropped but rested from T20 World Cup – Chief Selector

The chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma, has given a bizarre explanation for the exclusion of Shikhar Dhawan for the T20 World Cup. According to him, the left-handed batsman hasn’t been dropped but rested from the upcoming ICC event in the UAE. Shikhar Dhawan is the leading run-scorer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

“Shikhar Dhawan is a very important player for us, he was the captain in Sri Lanka. What discussion happened I cannot disclose. He is important and he is there in the loop. But the need of the hour was that we look at other players and give Shikhar Dhawan some rest, otherwise he is an important player and he will be back very soon,” Chetan Sharma said in his first virtual press meet.

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are the three opening batsmen in the squad.

“We have three openers – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan, who can bat as opener and can also fit into the middle order. So Kishan is giving us a lot of options, if needed he can open like he has done in ODIs (in Sri Lanka) when he got a fifty and he can also play in the middle order because he is a good player of spin.

“It is up to the team management if they want Kohli to open the batting, but as of now, we have picked three openers. Virat is an asset to the team. When he bats in the middle order, the team plays around him. He has a brilliant record in T20s batting in the middle order. But as I said, it all depends on what the situation is at that point of time,” said the former India pacer.