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India could try opening with Dhawan and push Rahul to No.4: MSK Prasad
Follow UsThe former chief selector also wants Kohli to take a ‘significant break’ before the T20 World Cup
Former national chief selector MSK Prasad feels the trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are indispensable in T20I cricket, but believes there might be merit in opening with Shikhar Dhawan come the World Cup in Australia, pushing Rahul to No.4. Dhawan, who was left out of the 2021 T20 World Cup squad, has been quietly having a fine season, with his tally of 369 runs being second among Indians.
With Rahul having previously batted at No.4 for the national side — he averages 87.00 in the position and has a century to his name — Prasad is of the opinion that it might be worth taking a punt on Dhawan up top. The southpaw, notably, has not played a T20I since July last year, against Sri Lanka.
"These three are indispensable if fit. There is no way that you can leave anyone of them for the World T20. But yes, if I look at numbers, I might just try someone like Shikhar Dhawan at the opening slot and check Rahul out at No.4,” Prasad told PTI.
“He has a T20 hundred in Manchester some years back in middle-order, so why not.”
The former chief selector, however, wants Kohli to take a ‘significant break’ in the months to come, and wants the former skipper to be ‘fresh, up and running’ for the World Cup.
"But yes, I want Virat to take a significant break and before the Asia Cup, he should be fresh, up and running," Prasad said.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Deep Dasgupta, meanwhile, believes that the management must first identify the roles and then pick individuals capable of performing the said roles effectively.
"In Tests or ODIs, we normally find players, check them out and accordingly assign roles to them. In T20, you need to do the reverse. You first decide roles and then fit in players,” Dasgupta said.
"They can still play the trio as number 1, 2 and 3 but there has to be specific role which they should be told long before the tournament.”
India's next assignment in T20I cricket is against South Africa in June, the squad for which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.