Would pick KL Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in WT20 squad, opines Kris Srikkath

KL Rahul's over-cautious approach in the World Cup made everyone feel the pinch of the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and the quick starts that he used to give. However, Rahul played more freely in the T20 and ODI series against the West Indies and looked extremely comfortable at the crease and in fine form. He smashed a quick-ire 91 against West Indies in the third T20I at the Wankhede Stadium which helped India win the series.

Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth believes that KL Rahul is the right choice to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. With Rohit rested for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, Dhawan will get a chance to make his claim for the T20 World Cup berth stronger. But Srikkanth has some other opinion on this as he feels runs against Sri Lanka is nothing to brag about.

"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 told TOI.

Dhawan suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of the T20 and ODI series against the West Indies and Rahul pounced on the opportunity and scored runs in both the series. Dhawan failed to impress when Bangladesh and South Africa had toured earlier in 2019 for T20I series and thus there is a case for him being dropped and Rahul being made the first-choice opener alongside Rohit. However, Dhawan is pretty positive and would like to consider this as a fresh start. He was pretty vocal about his desire to win India the T20 World Cup Down Under.

"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 said in Guwahati.