Mumbai, Sep 9
Shikhar Dhawan remains a “very” important part of India’s limited overs set up but the need of the hour was to look at other players and give him some rest, said chief selector Chetan Sharma after the southpaw did not find a place in the T20 World Cup squad.The stylish opener had captained India in the limited overs series in Sri Lanka in July.”Shikhar Dhawan is a very important player for us, he was the captain in Sri Lanka. What discussion happened I cannot disclose. He is important and he is there in the loop.”But the need of the hour was that we look at other players and give Shikhar Dhawan some rest, otherwise he is an important player and he will be back very soon,” Chetan said in his first virtual press-meet on Wednesday night.
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are the three openers in the squad. However, there is a possibility that skipper Virat Kohli might open alongside Rohit.
“We have three openers – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan, who can bat as opener and can also fit into the middle order. So Kishan is giving us a lot of options, if needed he can open like he has done in ODIs (in Sri Lanka) when he got a fifty and he can also play in middle order because he is a good player of spin.
“It is up to the team management if they want Kohli to open the batting, but as of now we have picked three openers. Virat is an asset for the team. When he bats in the middle order the team plays around him.”He has a brilliant record in T20s batting in the middle order. But as I said, it all depends on what the situation is at that point of time,” said the former India pacer. Rishabh Pant is the number one wicket-keeper batsman in the squad ahead of Kishan and Rahul. “You are talking about three wicket-keepers but number one is Rishabh Pant, number two is Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul will only be used to keep wickets in case of an emergency otherwise he is a specialist opener in the team,” said Chetan.According to Chetan, the shortest format is all about all-rounders and hence the panel led by him has packed the team with such players.
