Indian skipper for the second-string side, Shikhar Dhawan, has been out of India’s T20I vision. The southpaw has not played a T20I match for the national side for a long time and finds himself very low in the pecking order. While many expect the 36-year-old to be out of the team in near future former India keeper Saba Karim has come out and squashed all doubts regarding his exclusion.
He has laid emphasis on the importance of Dhawan and expects the batter to open for India in the next ODI World Cup in 2023. Karim has also asked fans to not pressurise the batter.
“Shikhar Dhawan’s place in the team has been confirmed. There’s no need to put pressure on him all the time. There will be one or two matches where he won’t score runs. I think the selectors have decided that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will be the openers in the next 50-over World Cup,” he said on India News.
Hardik Pandya to be selected ahead of Shardul Thakur- Saba Karim
Additionally, he has also promoted Hardik Pandya in the pecking order and expects the all-rounder to be included in the team ahead of Shardul Thakur. Explaining his choice, he said, “He is a very useful player. But Hardik Pandya is a batting all-rounder, while Shardul Thakur is a bowling all-rounder. That’s a big difference. We can surely groom Shardul. But I don’t see him becoming India’s No.1 or No.2 bowler in white-ball cricket. He can only play as a third seamer. If he can bat well, it will be an added advantage.”
Deepak Chahar will be unavailable for the second ODI against South Africa in Ranchi due to a stiff back. He has been ruled out of the series with Washington Sundar chosen as his replacement. West Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar is also in contention for a spot in the playing XI as Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan have underperformed.
India lost the first match against South Africa by nine runs despite Sanju Samson’s 86 off 63.
