Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan were intimated about their Test future during England tour

Vijay recently expressed his concern over the lack of communication between players and selectors.

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan | Getty

Indian batsmen Karun Nair and Murali Vijay recently expressed their concern over the lack of communication between players and selection committee, after being dropped from the Test squad of the ongoing West Indies series. However, it is learnt that both the batters along with Shikhar Dhawan have been intimated about their Test future during the England tour.

As per a report published in TOI, Dhawan has been told that he is unlikely to be considered for Test cricket from here on while the selectors are still keen on getting Vijay back in form before the upcoming Test series in Australia.

"The selectors and the team management had consulted the board and it was decided that Vijay should play county cricket to get his touch and confidence back. The roadmap was clearly explained to him. The board got his visa extended and got him a county stint," a top BCCI official told TOI.

"He was clearly spoken to on September 9 when he signed a deal with Essex. If the selectors feel Rahul or any of the new openers isn't ready for Australia, they would most probably go back to Vijay ahead of Dhawan, although the team management prefers Dhawan for his attacking play," he added.

Report also suggests that Dhawan was told about the number of opportunities he would get to prove his prowess as a Test batsman.

"After Vijay failed in the second Test, Dhawan was told that he was going to get a free hand in the rest of the three Tests as the team management and selectors believed he could be an asset up the order as he could dominate any attack. But he was also told that if he couldn't perform, then a call would be taken on his Test future. He could still continue playing red-ball cricket in domestic cricket but it's time some other person was tried to open the batting," a source close to the selectors claimed.

"Dhawan had, in fact, planned his trip to Australia, where his wife lives with his kids, after the Oval Test. He didn't even wait for the team to be announced for the Tests against West Indies and left for Australia from Dubai after the Asia Cup," the source added. "The senior players are wary of speaking against the captain Virat Kohli and the team management. Since the selectors are not very big names, they have become soft targets. Even when Karun Nair was asked about his grievances, he said he was misquoted in an interview to a website," the BCCI official said.

(With TOI inputs)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 05 Oct, 2018

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