England vs India 2018: How good is Shikhar Dhawan actually?

Only once in a blue moon, does Virat Kohli select an unquestionable team. Following the trend, many eyebrows were raised when Shikhar Dhawan was dropped for the Lord's Test. According to former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar, "Dhawan should have got a second chance." Moreover, he scored more runs than both Vijay and Rahul.

Certainly one match is not enough to judge how a player would fare in the series and he was not the only one who failed. Even in the South African series, the southpaw was replaced by Rahul after just one outing. The question arises that why is Dhawan always the one to be dropped?

But if we focus the lens deeper, we will be able to figure out that the Delhi player is actually lucky to be getting these chances after being unable to show his worth as a test player. His career stats clearly reflect that he is a flat track bully. Having played 14 tests in Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, he has just scored 651 at an underwhelming average of a shade over 27. It includes a lone century against New Zealand at Auckland where he went outside of his comfort zone and played a gritty innings.

In the first test at Edgbaston, he was preferred over Pujara despite a pair in the warm-up match as he was an "inform" batsman coming fresh from a blistering century against Afghanistan. But can a century against a weak and hapless opposition who are making their test debut prove to be the merit for an important and difficult series?

"Match Winner" tag always works in favour of him. Kohli is a firm believer that Dhawan with his attacking approach can change matches. Yes, he is capable of doing so but has he been able to show this on difficult pitches or against quality oppositions? The answer to this is sadly no. Barring his magnificent century on debut where he announced himself to the scene, his so-called impactful performances are limited to only weak teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh when others have also fared well.

It's high time now that the selectors and team management look beyond Dhawan. The opener's position is that of utmost importance and an inconsistent batsman in foreign conditions doesn't help the cause. You can't always take the risk of exposing the middle order to the new ball.

Mayank Agarwal should get a reward for his brilliant performances.

A player whom selectors could turn to is Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal who is going through a purple patch. He scored 2,141 runs across all formats in the 2017-18 domestic season, the highest total by any batsman in an Indian domestic season.

Even though he didn't have a good IPL, he has been manufacturing big runs for India A. Seeing India's top order struggle, it will not be a bad idea to include a player in the squad for the last two tests who recently scored under such conditions.

Shaw's is surely next Indian batting sensation.

Mayank Agarwal is not riding alone on his merry way. His partner in crime; Prithvi Shaw is also making the headlines nowadays. Maybe it's a little too early for the Mumbaiker to make his debut and that too in England but it's just a matter of time till he storms into the Indian squad.

Indian selectors and the team management need to be re-think their policies and move ahead of Dhawan if they want to solve their top order troubles overseas. Hopefully, they will understand the seriousness of the matter and take the right decision.