Shikhar Dhawan omitted from India's 15-man squad owing to "conservative batting approach" - Sources

India's 15-man ICC T20 World Cup 2021 squad later in October this year was announced on Wednesday evening, with the list featuring Ravichandran Ashwin and the surprise inclusion of Axar Patel.

There were some notable exclusions though, with both Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal the most prominent figures missing from the squad, which will be mentored by former Indian captain, MS Dhoni.

Dhawan, who is currently leading the race for the Orange Cap in IPL 2021 with 380 runs from 8 matches, was omitted from the squad purely because of his "conservative" approach to batting, a source confirmed to Sportskeeda.

"The selectors and management came to a decision that Shikhar's conservative batting approach might not serve the team's purposes and that has cost him a spot in the squad. Instead, Ishan Kishan has been picked as the third opener, and his fearless style of batting is being preferred over Dhawan. Management is clear that India cannot win T20 games with a conservative batting approach"

Ishan Kishan was picked over Prithvi Shaw for the left-right combination

Ishan Kishan could be used as the third opener or a floater in the middle order

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Young right-hander Prithvi Shaw was among the contenders for the openers' spot in India squad for T20 World Cup, considering his recent returns, both in domestic cricket and in IPL 2021 for the Delhi Capitals.

However, given Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's presence as right-handers in the line-up, in addition to Kishan's capability to play as a floater, the Mumbai Indians southpaw was given the nod, the source confirmed.

"Shaw was also in contention as the backup opener. But with Rohit and Rahul both right-handers, the management wanted some variety. In Kishan they have a left-hander who can also float around the batting order, and that's why he is in the squad."

The Indian T20 World Cup squad, under Virat Kohli's captaincy, will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage clash on October 24th, 2021 in Dubai. The Men in Blue will then go on to face off against New Zealand, Afghanistan and the table-topper from Group B ahead of the knockout stages.