Will IPL 2021 help Shikhar Dhawan get back his opening slot in T20Is?
Until a month ago, Shikhar Dhawan was going into the Indian Premier League 2021 to prove a point to the Indian selectors that he can still turn up and perform in the shortest format. Ahead of the big season, Dhawan found himself on the benches of the Indian T20I squad. And at the time, this decision seemed all right to most experts, with some even suggesting that it could be the end of the road for the southpaw in T20Is.
In the past couple of years, KL Rahul’s emergence as a brute player has threatened to break the opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Dhawan in the shortest format, a pair that is the most successful in the history of T20Is. India solved the question by pushing Rahul in the middle order.
Picked, dropped, picked
With Dhawan struggling to score quickly at the top, the management went with the orange cap holder of the 2020 season. Captain Virat Kohli at the start of the England series said that the team will back Rahul and Rohit as their openers. However, in the first game, Dhawan played with Rohit taking a breather. Dhawan failed to make an impression in that match, appearing to be scratchy. He was dropped and his T20I career seemed to have been done.
However, by the end of that series, Virat Kohli was opening the innings with Rohit Sharma and the captain even went onto claim that this could be continued into the World Cup. This was mainly because KL Rahul seemed completely out of touch in the first four matches of that series.
Rahul came back to form in the subsequent ODI series and so did Dhawan, who had still had the backing of his captain in the 50 overs side. Both the openers in fact will end their IPL season for now with more runs than Kohli. Rahul, who would have still made it to the World Cup, scored 331 runs in seven matches while Shikhar Dhawan was in brilliant form and had the Orange Cap with him before IPL was suspended.
Fighting back in the IPL
In the eight innings which Dhawan played, he scored 380 runs at an average of 54.28 with a strike rate of 134.27. The strike rate might seem a little low, but it is worth noting that it includes the numbers from a couple of low-scoring fixtures, where he anchored the innings. One of the main reasons why the Delhi batsman was previously left out from the T20I team was his strike rate. But, in the past three seasons of the IPL, Dhawan has played his best cricket.
Now, this brings us to whether he will find his way back into the side or not. Considering the fact that teams will be allowed to pick 23 players in their squad, it is only obvious that Dhawan will be on that list. However, when it comes to the XI, Rahul might still be the favoured choice. But, it is safe to say that Dhawan has put himself in the discussion once again. At 35, he has turned his game around, adjusted it and bounced back like a champion player. And people who have watched him bat in T20 cricket over the years will know that he has never been so consistent, so positive and played the format with this so much confidence.
