Reportedly left handed opener shikhar dhawan is returning to the international fold after a gap of almost 2 months during the 3-T20I series vs sri lanka starting in guwahati on Sunday. Dhawan had missed the limited-overs series against west indies due to an injury and during his absence, KL rahul has emerged as the primary contender for the opening spot in white-ball formats for India. Meanwhile former indian opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth has thrown his weight behind rahul before the 1st T20I vs sri lanka in guwahati, adding that there was "no competition" between Dhawan and Rahul.
Perhaps Srikkanth said on Star sports tamil on sunday "Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the t20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner". Furthermore Srikkanth's assessment seems to be based on the batting returns of the duo off late. In the last one year, Dhawan has endured a serious dip in his batting form especially in T20Is where he scored just 272 runs in 12 innings at a below-par strike-rate of 110.56. In the same period, rahul has amassed 356 runs in 9 innings at an impressive strike-rate of 142.40.
Moreover on his part, Dhawan said that he is looking forward to a "new start" in a new year and wants to win the world cup for india, which is just over 8 months away from now. Apparently with only a handful of T20Is left to be played by india till they board the plane for australia for the world cup, it remains to be seen who amongst KL rahul and shikhar dhawan will cement his place in the final squad and then in the playing XI alongside rohit sharma who looks set to open the innings Down Under.
