Veteran India Opener Shikhar Dhawan was snubbed from the India squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa despite an impressive show in IPL 2022. The BCCI announced an 18-member squad for the five-match series where Dhawan was one of the notable omissions as the selectors picked young Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad over him to partner with KL Rahul to open the innings. Dhawan had a better IPL with the bat as compared to both Kishan and Gaikwad but he still failed to secure a place.
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Several senior cricketers including skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were rested for the series as many were expecting Dhawan to get a chance so that he can make a case for himself for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
However, a senior BCCI official has revealed that it was head coach Rahul Dravid’s decision to drop Dhawan as he wanted to give chances to the young players.
“Shikhar has been a great servant of Indian cricket for over a decade. But in T20s, you have to give chances to youngsters who have been doing well. Rahul had to make the tough call and we all agreed. Shikhar was informed by Rahul before the team was announced on Sunday,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.IN.
Dhawan finished the IPL 2022 as the highest-run getter for his team Punjab Kings. In the 14 innings, the southpaw scored 460 runs in 14 matches at an average of 38.33.
KL Rahul has been named the captain of the Indian team for Proteas T20Is as Rishabh Pant will act as his deputy. Young pace sensations Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik received the maiden call-up after impressive outings in the cash-rich league. While veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik also got a call-up to the Indian team after 2019. The 36-year-old has been in sensational form this season for RCB as he played a pivotal role in his team’s qualification for the playoffs.
India’s T20I Squad For South Africa Series
KL Rahul (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
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