End of the road for Dhawan? Gavaskar said, opener has this possibility in T20 World Cup
Former India captain and noted commentator Sunil Gavaskar believes that opener Shikhar Dhawan is unlikely to make it to the national team as far as the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 to be held this year is concerned. Dhawan has had a decent run in IPL 2022 and failed to find a place in the squad for the South Africa series and T20Is in England next month. Gavaskar believes the curtain is on for Dhawan as far as T20I cricket is concerned and with just four months left to go for the ICC’s flagship event in Australia.
“No. I can’t see his name coming up. If it had to pop up, it would have been in this squad. A lot of people have gone to England and he could have been in this team. If he’s not in this team, then I don’t see him ending up in the mix (for the T20 World Cup),” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul ruled out of the series against South Africa, Dhawan will be looking forward to a return to the national team. But he didn’t get a chance as the selectors decided to test the youngsters. Dhawan has scored over 450 runs in the last seven IPL editions but still could not find a place in the squad for England.
What Shikhar is showing Liam on his mobile #SherSquad, Any guess#PunjabKings #SaddaPunjab #saaddaapjaab #ShikharDhawan #LiamLivingstone @liaml4893 pic.twitter.com/o9tlpoctsi — Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) June 16, 2022
Though the selectors have picked Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan in the recent series, Gavaskar believes that if Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are fit, they will be the best options for India at the top of the T20 World Cup. “My opening combination will be KL Rahul, if he is fit, and Rohit Sharma is with him,” he added.
India will play five T20 matches against England and two against Ireland in the next few weeks.
(with IANS inputs)