Twitter wants in-form Shikhar Dhawan over KL Rahul in India's T20 World Cup squad

The ongoing 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is crucial for team India players, especially for the ones who are on the fringe of making it to the squad. With the T20 World Cup set to be played in October in the country, the selectors are keeping a keen eye on the performances of the players. Ahead of the IPL, the team management seemed clear about the combinations they want to go at the top of the order in the shortest format.

Shikhar Dhawan’s place was in doubt as he was dropped after the failure in 1st T20I of the five-match series against England while KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were preferred to open. But Rahul had also struck poor form then and was eventually left out for the deciding fifth T20I with Virat Kohli opening the innings with Rohit. It worked wonders for India as they stitched the best opening stand of the series.

While the Indian captain still backed Rahul to be the opener, Shikhar Dhawan wasn’t in the discussions as well. However, come the IPL, the southpaw from Delhi has regained his form in T20s and currently holds the Orange Cap for scoring most runs in three matches. Dhawan has so far scored 186 runs at a stunning strike-rate of 163.15 with two half-centuries to his name.

He led Delhi Capitals to an easy with a 92-run knock off 49 balls with 13 fours and two sixes in a mammoth chase of 196 runs against Punjab Kings. In the same game, the Punjab skipper KL Rahul scored 61 runs but took 51 deliveries for that. His strike-rate, like last year, has once again come under the scanner as many believed the captain should’ve played quicker on a flat pitch.

Is KL Rahul once again becoming conservative?

KL Rahul’s scoring rate was the talk of the town in IPL 2020. Though he won the Orange Cap amassing 670 runs, his strike-rate of 129.34 wasn’t good according to many. His team also couldn’t make it to the playoffs. The 29-year-old did manage to shut down his critics in the opening game against Rajasthan Royals smashing 91 off 50 deliveries. But against Delhi, Rahul again seemed to have gone into the shell when his partner Mayank Agarwal was smashing it all around.

Moreover, looking at the way Shikhar Dhawan batted later in the game and the way the Capitals chased down the target with ease, one felt KL Rahul should’ve played aggressively. He also looking lost at the moment in terms of captaincy. For the same reason, fans are again demanding now to have Dhawan in India’s T20 World Cup squad as an opener instead of Rahul.

Dhawan is lighting up the IPL for the second consecutive season. He was the second-highest run-getter last time around with 618 runs at a strike-rate of 144.73, much higher than that of Rahul’s. Going by his current form, the left-hander has certainly given a happy headache to the selectors and clearly, Rahul will have to up the ante to prove his mettle again.

Here’s how fans reacted on Twitter: