Won't pick Shikhar Dhawan over KL Rahul in T20Is, attests Kris Srikkanth

After spending almost 2 months on the sidelines due to injury, destructive opener Shikhar Dhawan is all set to roar in the T20 series against Sri Lanka which kicked off today (January 5). But it seems like the injury and his poor run of future has already cost him a place in the flight to Australia as KL Rahul cashed in on the opportunity to virtually book a seat for the gala T20 event.

Former India skipper and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth didn’t hesitate to claim that Dhawan is no where close to Rahul when it comes to selection for the T20 World Cup. Srikkanth shared that had he been in charge of selection, Dhawan won’t be boarding the flight to Australia.

"Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the T20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner," Srikkanth said on Star Sports Tamil.

Srikkanth's statement seems to be coming on the back of the batting returns of the duo lately. In the last one year, Dhawan has had a poor batting form especially in T20Is where he scored just 272 runs in 12 innings at an underwhelming trike-rate of 110.56 while in the meantime, Rahul has amassed 356 runs in 9 innings at an impressive strike-rate of 142.40.

On the other hand, Dhawan revealed he isn’t looking at his previous records and his going into the new year rejuvenated to start fresh. The Delhi lad promised to make an impact as he identified it as the apt opportunity to grab a spot in the World Cup squad.

"Lots of injuries last year, but it's part and parcel of the game. It's a new year, looking forward to a new start. I always take things in a positive manner. Injuries are natural, just take them in my stride. Looking forward to scoring lots of runs this year, be a more impactful player, win matches for my team and win the World Cup. This series is a good opportunity for me to score runs. I am always developing my game, developing new shots," Dhawan told Star Sports.