India vs Australia 2nd ODI: Why India should drop Shikhar Dhawan from the playing XI

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

This is an age old adage that we keep hearing time and again. And, if there is one place where this is true in the sporting world today, then it has to be the current state of the Indian cricket team. Only two batsmen can open an innings, and India have three of them in the side.

There is Rohit Sharma, who is the vice-captain of the side. He had a stellar 2019 with the bat, dismantling bowling attacks across the world with disdain. He scored a staggering 1490 runs in the year 2019, including 7 hundreds and 6 fifties.

Then, there is the explosive Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan was side lined from the side during the 2019 World Cup due to injury, but he has returned to form and looks in good touch. In the T20 series against Sri Lanka, Dhawan scored 84 runs in the two matches that he played. And, in the first ODI as well, Dhawan was stroking the ball with élan, and scored a sedate 74.

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And finally, there is the hugely talented KL Rahul. In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul made full use of the opportunity and proved his mettle. In the T20 series against the West Indies, Rahul scored 164 runs at an average of 54.67, and also scored a century in the second ODI against the West Indies at Vizag. Also, in the T20 series against Sri Lanka, he scored another fifty.

And, in the first ODI against Australia, Rahul scored 47 runs.

Now the question is, whom to drop?

Indian skipper Virat Kohli made the following statement about this situation ahead of the Australian series.

"All guys in form is always a good thing for the team. You obviously want to have the best players available and then choose from what the combination should be for the team. We'll figure out what combination we want to go in with, there's a possibility all three might play,” said the skipper.

Kohli also stated that he is not possessive about where he bats in the batting order and also stated that it is his job to look after the team and prepare it for the future as well.

Well, the captain might be willing to come one position lower down the order for the sake of accommodating all three men, but this is a move that can do more harm than good. Kohli is the world’s best batsman at the No.3 position, and his numbers speak for themselves. The master batsman has scored 9509 runs batting one down, at a colossal average of 63.39.

Now, Kohli coming at No.4 can have further repercussions. Shreyas Iyer was the perfect find for the tricky slot. The 25-year-old has scored 2 fifties in the three innings that he has batted in that position. Now, Iyer has been pushed one slot further down, because of Kohli coming in at No.4.

And, this experiment failed in the first ODI against Australia. While the Indian skipper was dismissed for just 16 runs, Iyer returned back to the pavilion after scoring just 4.

India are now having too many options for the opening slot, and this is doing more harm than good. It might be unfair to say this, but it is Shikhar Dhawan who should be dropped from the team for the second ODI. KL Rahul will automatically be the keeper for the second ODI, since Pant is ruled out due to concussion.

Dropping Dhawan also frees up a slot for someone like Shivam Dube. Now, Dube can propel the team in the last few overs with some lusty blows down the order and can simultaneously act as as the 6th bowling option, something India lacked in the first ODI.

Yes, it might be unfair to Shikhar Dhawan, that in spite of him being amongst the runs, he might not get a chance. But then, we do not live in a perfectly fair world, do we?