Such is India’s problem of plenty that the person who was chosen captain — though in stand-in capacity — for India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July, could not even be accommodated in the squad for the T20 World Cup two months later. That is how the script has unfolded for Shikhar Dhawan.
Even Prithvi Shaw, who’s Dhawan’s teammate at Delhi Capitals and had also opened with the left-hander in all the three ODIs and the first T20I in Sri Lanka, wasn’t considered for the showpiece event beginning next month in the UAE.
Neither was seasoned campaigner Manish Pandey, though one can always point out that he just doesn’t seem to be learning from his mistakes — his injudicious shot selection has been letting him down in international cricket as well as in the IPL, where he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
But all three of them do have a chance to prove a point or two to the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee when the IPL resumes from Sunday. To be precise, the attention would be more on Dhawan and the young Shaw. They are not just key members of their IPL franchise but would also be in the fray for an India recall provided they utilise the opportunities in the IPL.
Recent form
The situation for Dhawan was in any case a tricky one. Although he did fairly well in the ODI series versus Sri Lanka, being India’s top run-getter (128 runs) at an average of 64, his numbers in the T20Is weren’t exceptional (86 runs at a strike rate of 108.86).
With all-rounder Krunal Pandya testing positive, several other players had to be in isolation and Dhawan had to lead a further depleted side. The situation demanded him to lead from the front as a batsman too, but he couldn’t really deliver.
When England toured India earlier in the year, Dhawan was among the top run-getters in the three-match ODI series, averaging close to 57. But he featured in only one of the five T20Is preceding that.
All these must have been taken into account when Dhawan wasn’t chosen in India’s Cup squad with wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan preferred instead.
Way forward
But giving Dhawan “rest” — a term which chief selector Sharma used while announcing the squad — is something that some in the Indian cricket fraternity are not convinced about.
“There may have been an error in terms of terminology as he (Sharma) tried to explain the role of Ishan Kishan. But there’s nothing called resting when it comes to a major event like the World Cup, where Shikhar’s experience could’ve mattered,” said former chief selector MSK Prasad.
To make a quick comeback in the Indian team, what the left-handed opener needs to do is follow the “VVS Laxman model”, he said.
“VVS always answered you with tonnes of runs if he was dropped. That’s the way Shikhar too should approach his coming assignments,” MSK said.
“The age that he’s in, he doesn’t require to go through the grind. He just needs to show his good form in whatever format he plays and when the opportunity arises, he comes back. And there’s no need to make any changes in his technique too,” the former India ’keeper added.
Work in progress
As far as the 21-year-old Shaw is concerned, the dashing stroke player’s shot selection has been an issue and it was noticed even on the Sri Lanka tour. His exquisite timing got him off to roaring starts with boundaries on all sides of the ground, but unexpected errors resulted in abrupt ends to his knocks.
“It appears to be a case of being in a double mind then. This is one area where Prithvi will need to work on,” said Shaw’s childhood coach Santosh Pingulkar.
The coach, however, asserted that Shaw is determined enough to come back stronger.
“He told me the other day that he’s mentally prepared and when the opportunity arrives, he’ll be ready.
“There’s already an improvement in terms of his stroke-making as he’s playing shots with a straighter bat,” Pingulkar pointed out.
