Why Shikhar Dhawan got axed? Here's the reason

 There were quite a few surprises in India's 15-member squad that was announced on Wednesday. But nothing quite like the exclusion of Shikhar Dhawan. However, the long-standing opening batsman of the Indian team in limited-overs cricket. Shikhar Dhawan was even named the captain of the Indian team that travelled to Sri Lanka to play a short ODI and T20I series. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are selected as openers in the side. Although, Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan are the two standby openers in the squad. Moreover, both of them can bat in the upper-middle order. 

Why Did Shikhar Dhawan Misses Out?

Shikhar Dhawan's reputation is built as a 'Big-Match Player'. He is known for performing in bigger matches, just the way he did during the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia. So, why would he miss out on a spot? SportzPoint.com is here to find the reasons.

1. Too many opening options in the team 

Practically, there was no room for him. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are undroppable names, consistently providing turbocharged starts to their franchises. With the terrific touch Rahul has been in, it would be unwise to push him down the order. That would disrupt the team's balance. Had the event been held outside Asia, maybe Dhawan, with his vast experience, would have been included as a replacement opener.

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are two of the biggest names at the Indian top-order currently. Especially after Rahul's performance in England, it would not have made sense to drop the Karnataka batsman. Other than that, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, both of whom are selected as stand by openers can also bat in the middle order. Both of them have been efficiently doing this for their respective IPL franchises. Even Virat Kohli can bat as an opener if need be. Thus, there was no space to accommodate a fifth specialist opener in the team. 

Also Read : Rohit Sharma and test match wins: The Formula

2. Shikhar Dhawan's "conservative" approach 

Sportskeeda quoted a "source" saying: "The selectors and management came to a decision that Shikhar's conservative batting approach might not serve the team's purposes and that has cost him a spot in the squad." The report also read that the selectors do not want someone with a conservative approach to batting.

Dhawan began his career as an explosive batsman but over the years, he has developed himself to be a good ODI batsman. But not someone who could hit the ball right from the word go. He takes time to settle down which can be accepted in 50-over cricket, but certainly not in T20s. Dhawan has 380 runs from 8 matches that he has played in the IPL 2021 so far. Despite his IPL form, he has not been able to get past youngsters like Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. 

Dhawan has experience of playing in 68 T20I matches as opposed to Kishan who has only played in three. But that is clearly not the criteria that the selectors were looking at. The 35-year old Delhi opener would want to consolidate his place in the ODI team of India, but even there he has younger challengers like Padikkal. 

Read Also : IPL 2021: Number of matches each team needs to win to qualify for playoffs

Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join Indian Team as a mentor in T20 World Cup.

Team India 15-member Squad : Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma , KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

Standby Players : Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar.