IPL 2022 | Shikhar Dhawan should have been included for South Africa series, opines MSK Prasad
Former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has backed Shikhar Dhawan saying he should have been included in the Indian team for the upcoming T20I series in South Africa. Prasad further added that Dhawan can be considered for the T20 World Cup as he has been good on hard and bouncy tracks.
After the conclusion of the IPL 2022, the Indian team will be all set to host South Africa for a five-match T20I series. The squad for the series has been announced and it includes some fresh faces and some surprising exclusions. Youngsters were rewarded with a place in the team for their performance in IPL. Shikhar Dhawan scored 460 runs from 14 matches at 38.33 and a strike rate of 122.67 in the ongoing edition of IPL.
His performance has been fine for PBKS but still, the veteran batter was omitted from the Indian team for the South Africa series. Former chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad has backed Dhawan saying that he should have been considered for the series. Prasad also added that the left-hander will be a good pick in the T20I World Cup this year.
“I thought they will consider Shikhar because if you're looking at T20 World Cup, we're going to have it in Australia. It will be all hard and bouncy tracks, where Shikhar is a proven customer. Shikhar is also a proven customer in ICC tournaments. So somewhere I felt that maybe they could have given him an opportunity in this series before completely overlooking him,” Prasad said to NDTV.
“I personally felt that they should have tried him in this series. If they were not happy with him, they could have gone ahead. Maybe because Ishan Kishan and other guys have played the (2021 T20) World Cup, they are sticking on with them rather than trying out somebody else, I have a feeling like that. But I think Shikhar has definitely missed the bus. But they should have tried him this series. If they were still not happy with him, they should have gone past him.”