VVS Laxman Feels India Needs To Take Call On Shikhar Dhawan As Opener In T20I Squad

Former Indian batsman and Test specialist VVS Laxman feels with the T20 WC next year, team India will have to take a call whether consistent opener Shikhar Dhawan is still the preferred opening partner for Rohit Sharma going forward in the mega event in Australia. After suffering a fractured thumb in the WC 2019, Dhawan returned to the Indian team when the BCCI named him in the Indian squad for Windies tour. However, since making his comeback, Dhawan has not been impressive with the bat. The opener managed to score only 27 runs in the T20I game against Windies and amassed 39 runs in the ODIs. In T20Is in 2019, the 33-year-old has scored only 105 runs in seven innings at an average of 15. "With the next T20 World Cup a little over a year away, India will have to decide whether Shikhar Dhawan is still the preferred opening partner for Rohit Sharma going forward," Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India. "There are a lot of other batsmen capable of striking up a good alliance with Rohit at the top of the order. How long a rope the team management is willing to give him will make for interesting viewing." Kl Rahul, who average of over 41 in his T20I career against Dhawan's 27.28, has better stats when it comes to the shortest format of the game. Rahul can be considered as an alternative batsman to replace Dhawan in T20Is. Meanwhile, Dhawan who has been pretty down with his batting would look to get back to his form against the South Africans in the first T20 at HPCA Stadim at Dharamsala.