Shikhar Dhawan under pressure to cement his place at the top while in-form KL Rahul waits in wings as India take on Sri Lanka in second T20I tonight.
India's Shikhar Dhawan during the third T20I against Bangladesh at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur in November. Pic/AFP
Indore: A washed-out series-opener means Shikhar Dhawan has one game less to make a statement in his quest to outperform an in-form KL Rahul, making the opener's fortunes an interesting sub-plot of India's second T20I against Sri Lanka here today.
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Dhawan, 34, is a proven performer in limited-overs cricket, but with age on Rahul's side (27), time is running out for the easy-going Delhi-based cricketer to cement his place for the T20 World Cup later this year.
The left-hander's strike rate in the shortest format has been an issue for a while and that is one thing he must address in the remaining two matches against Sri Lanka. The fact that Dhawan is coming back from an injury, makes his task all the more challenging.
KL Rahul
In the year that went by, Dhawan managed 272 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 110. Rahul, on the other hand, has made the most of his opportunities at the top and was in scintillating form in the previous limited-overs series (three ODIs and three T20s) against the West Indies, scoring a hundred and three fifties in six innings.
Former India opener and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikanth has gone to the extent of saying that there is no competition between Dhawan and Rahul as the latter is way ahead in the race to be Rohit Sharma's partner in the T20 World Cup in Australia. Skipper Virat Kohli too has stated that choosing between Dhawan and Rahul will be a tough call after Rohit, who is rested from the Sri Lanka series, returns to opening the innings.
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