BENGALURU: Ever since Indian cricketers resumed playing after the Covid-19 induced lockdown last year, opener Shikhar Dhawan has been consistent. He accumulated 998 runs in the last two editions (2021 yet to be completed), and his form in national colours looks decent with four half-centuries in ten limited-overs matches. Despite such a record, there is no guarantee that the southpaw will find a place in the Indian playing XI in the T20 World Cup due to the sheer competition that exists in the Indian team.
The team comprises openers such as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, and more importantly, India captain Virat Kohli is also open to playing that role if required. That makes matters extremely difficult for Dhawan, but the Delhi man can prove to be a selection headache if he scores big in the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka in Colombo and the remainder of the IPL season before the T20 World Cup. Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif feels the series is going to be extremely important for Dhawan with regards to the ICC event scheduled in October and November in the UAE and Oman.
"I am quite sure Shikhar is aware of the situation (competition for the openers' slot). He has also been playing really well. I have seen him very closely in recent times and he has been in fantastic form. Even his strike rate is good if there were any questions raised about it. He has scored very well in the IPL, which is a good competition and the players are also of best quality. So this Sri Lanka series and then the IPL will be very important for him....You also want to have players who are in good form and Shikhar is one of them," Kaif said in a virtual interaction.
It remains to be seen if the added responsibility of captaincy impacts his batting in the tour. "He must be eying that spot in the T20 World Cup and deservedly so. I think he is very keen to create an impact on the tour, both as a captain and an opener."
Though most of the spots in the Indian team are more or less decided for the shortest format World Cup, players cannot take their places for granted too. The team management will also keep a close eye on the Sri Lanka series and the IPL when it comes to the middle order as well.
Shreyas Iyer, who has been a regular in the Indian team, has not played any competitive cricket after his shoulder injury in April. So, his IPL performance along with his fitness will be taken into account before deciding the team.
“Iyer has done a good job for India in the limited-overs cricket, scoring runs. There will be eyes on him as to how he will do in the IPL if he plays. There is Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson also….Form is going to be very important and Kohli likes to give opportunity as well, try variations in the XI,” said Kaif.
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