T20 World Cup 2021: Chetan Sharma refuses to disclose discussions on Shikhar Dhawan's exclusion

Dhawan recently captained Indian team on Sri Lanka white-ball tour.

Shikhar Dhawan recently led India in Sri Lanka | Getty Images

BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma on Thursday (September 9) opened up about the exclusion of the veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

The BCCI on Wednesday announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in the UAE and Oman in October-November this year.

While MS Dhoni joining the Indian cricket team as a mentor turned out to be a pleasant surprise, but Dhawan’s omission was one of the most surprising one, as he had finished the IPL 2020 as the second leading run-scorer with 618 and was also in good form in the first half of the IPL 2021.

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The southpaw recently led India in the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka, where Team India won the ODI series 2-1 before losing the T20I series 1-2 to the hosts. However, the selection committee chief didn’t reveal the exact reason behind his exclusion, but said he is “in the loop”.

He further insisted that Dhawan remains a very important part of India's limited-overs set-up, but the need of the hour was to look at other players for the T20 World Cup and give him some rest.

Sharma said at the virtual press conference, “Shikhar Dhawan is a very important player for us, he was the captain in Sri Lanka. What discussion happened I cannot disclose. He is important and he is there in the loop. But the need of the hour was that we look at other players and give Shikhar Dhawan some rest, otherwise he is an important player and he will be back very soon.”

Noteworthy, India picked Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul, and Ishan Kishan as three openers in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2021, starting on October 17 in the UAE and Oman. India will open their ICC T20 World Cup campaign on October 24 against the arch-rivals Pakistan.

(With PTI Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 09 Sep, 2021

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