Sunil Gavaskar unhappy with team selection, terms Shikhar Dhawan a ‘scapegoat’

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, much like everyone else was left stunned after the lineup for the Indian team was revealed for the second Test, which started today in Centurion. The team management came up with a couple of surprising changes which left him with no option but to raise questions about the selection.

For starters, Shikhar Dhawan was axed and KL Rahul was brought instead. The next change saw Wriddhiman Saha forced out with an injury to pave way for Parthiv Patel. But the most surprising one was replacing in-form pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. He was let go to make way for the tall and lanky pacer Ishant Sharma.

Speaking on the same lines, Gavaskar said that Dhawan’s “head is always on the chopping board”, making it clear that he isn’t happy with the chop and change made by the Indian team.

The 68-year-old further said, “I think Shikhar Dhawan is the ‘Bali ka Bakra’ (scapegoat). His head is always on the chopping board. He just needs one bad inning and he is out of the team.”

Sunil Gavaskar added, “I also don’t understand why Ishant came in for. Bhuvneshwar when he had taken three wickets on the opening day at Cape Town. Ishant could have replaced Shami or Bumrah but leaving him out, I don’t understand.”

Virat Kohli lashes out at the critics

Despite all the criticism, Virat Kohli has defended his deputy. Reacting to the criticism on Rahane’s omission, Kohli lashed out saying the “playing XI is not decided as per outside opinion”.

Ajinkya Rahane has been in a poor patch, of late, which could explain his omission. But the 29-year-old has been a lynchpin in India’s batting lineup and is a proven contender in overseas conditions.

All said and done, no changes can be affected now. A skipper knows what’s best for the team and righteous thing to do would be to show faith and expect results to go India’s way. As it turned out, the visitors finished ahead of the South African team on day 1 and would like to extend their advantage on Sunday.