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Former Indian cricketer S Badrinath believes KL Rahul is higher in the pecking order than Shikhar Dhawan in India's white-ball setup.
Badrinath made the comment while trying to explain the entire captaincy saga that took place when Rahul was deemed fit for the Zimbabwe tour.
Dhawan had led the Men in Blue to a clinical 3-0 series win over West Indies last month and was named the stand-in skipper for the Zimbabwe tour. However, Rahul, who was injured for the previous series, passed the fitness test and the BCCI announced last week that he would take over as captain.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Badrinath had to say about the situation:
"In the ODI series that will take place in Zimbabwe, Shikhar Dhawan was initially named the captain. After that, after KL Rahul joined the team, he was announced as the captain. So we are getting a sign that the Indian team management are definitely preferring KL Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan."
Badrinath backs Shikhar Dhawan's inclusion in T20I squad
Badrinath admitted that Rahul is likely to be the first-choice opener alongside Rohit Sharma for the T20 World Cup in three months' time. However, the former cricketer also listed the reasons why Dhawan cannot be ruled out of contention and stated:
"We will definitely have KL Rahul as our first choice. However, there are a few positives on Dhawan's side. The first positive is that he is a left-hander. The left-hander, right-hander contamination is very important when it comes in T20 cricket."
He added:
"Thus, 'Will the selectors and Indian team management go with the Dhawan- Rohit Sharma combination' is always a question in our mind."
Badrinath opined that since the T20 World Cup is in Australia, it makes even more sense to consider Shikhar Dhawan. He added:
"Another important factor in favour of Dhawan is his experience of playing in Australia. Dhawan has played a lot of cricket in Australia and apart from that he has performed good as well."
Dhawan will hope to make a statement by piling on the runs for India against Zimbabwe. The first ODI between the two teams will take place at the Harare Sports Club on August 18.
Despite being ignored for the Asia Cup, does Dhawan have an outside chance of getting into India's T20 World Cup squad? Let us know in the comments.
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