India’s senior opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t been in the best of form of late and injuries have stalled his progress as well. KL Rahul also replaced him in world cup 2019.. So the question is KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan for T20I, who is better?
Having said that, the southpaw still has a lot to offer in Indian cricket. Dhawan will be eyeing a return to the side in the upcoming limited-overs assignments against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively in January 2020.
He still remains as the best choice in the ODI set-up. But is he the answer for India in T20Is?
The southapaw scored 41, 31 and 19 in the three T20Is against Bangladesh last month. Post that he got severely injured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In the domestic T20 tournament, he failed to get going and had a best of just 35 in the five games he featured for Delhi.
The issue with Dhawan in recent times is that the player has been consuming many deliveries to put pressure on the others. Also, when getting starts, he isn’t being able to convert them into big scores. That has been a problem, besides him being injury-prone.
His absence from the recently-concluded T20I series against West Indies, gave KL Rahul the chance to open. The Karnataka batsman has been a regular in the limited-overs side. However, he has mostly been on the bench with a few matches coming in here and there. The T20Is against West Indies served as the perfect platform for someone like a Rahul to grab the chance.
And the player didn’t disappoint. He needed to show why he is ready to take over as the principle opener in T20Is for India. In this article, we analyse why Rahul should replace Dhawan in T20Is.
Rahul’s act of aggression against Windies was what India need in T20Is
Rahul showed his temperament and panache against West Indies in the T20Is. In the first match, he scored a superb 62-run knock.
And then at the Wankhede in Mumbai, things got better. Rahul smashed a free-flowing 91 to help India muster a score of 240/3. In both these games we saw that the player can strike it well when the team is chasing or batting first.
In the first T20I, Rahul was terrific alongside Virat Kohli in a chase of 208. He scored a 40-ball 62 and struck at 155.00.
In the third T20I, he scored a 56-ball 91 that was laced with nine fours and four sixes at 162.50. What stood out was his understanding with Rohit Sharma.
The two added a 135-run opening stand and scored in no time. Rahul has shown he can be a perfect solution in this team as a frontline batsman.
The strike-rate which was in excess of 150 in both games showed why he is a real deal in T20Is.
Rahul is a perfect fit in T20Is and he needs to be celebrated
Rahul has been a class act in T20Is so far. In 34 T20Is, he has scored 1,138 runs at 43.77. He has two hundreds and eight half-centuries. When you look at his strike-rate, it is a healthy 146.46. In contrast, Dhawan’s strike-rate is 128.21. India need consistency in the format and that’s where Rahul can add more dynamism.
He has got more strokes in his arsenal and that makes him dangerous.
The series against West Indies served as a much-needed confidence booster for a player, who deserves more outings in the shortest format.
He loves playing the T20Is and there is that swagger about him. Rahul has moved up to sixth in the ICC T20I Rankings for Batsmen.
Things haven’t been easy for the player in terms of being in and out of the starting XI. “I won’t say I don’t feel it (pressure) at all.
Obviously, going in and out of the team is never easy on any player, you take a little bit of time to get used to the international pressure and oppositions and there are no opposition where you can just walk in and score runs, so it’s always difficult,” Rahul told reporters.
Why Rahul is pivotal for any team in the shortest format?
Rahul has been on song in T20 cricket and his last two seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tells you why he is so pivotal for any team. understands the game well and T20 and him have a special sync. What adds to Rahul’s benefit is that he can feature in a number of positions.
Not just as an opener, but Rahul can come in at number three or four. He can also be a wicket-keeper batsman. His fielding is strong as well. These are special attributes of a player in the shortest format.
Rahul’s aggressive style can give Rohit Sharma the time to be more of an anchor in matches when that’s required. Rahul is classy in his approach and that makes the long-term answer for India in the shortest format. He can also get those big innings rather than just the starts.
With the ICC World T20 to be held in Australia next year, Rahul can actually cash in and deliver the goods. He could be the answer atop ahead of Dhawan. The series against Sri Lanka next will be another reason for him to get in and maximise.
Dhawan should work his way back into the side and shouldn’t replace Rahul, who now deserves a consistent run of games. It is time the management backs him more prominently.
So what’s your choice KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan, Do let us know in the comments below.
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