The India v Sri Lanka T20I series, with the makeshift opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, was meant to help India decide which of them would be best suited to partner Rohit Sharma in India’s white-ball squads. After a 2-0 series win, there is still no unanimous choice.
Dhawan’s injury-riddled 2019 allowed Rahul to form an imperious pair alongside Rohit. In 2019, the duo averaged 92.3 per stand in ODIs, after 10 outings together, more than twice the corresponding figure for Dhawan and Rohit. In his last eight limited-overs innings, Rahul has five fifty-plus scores. In T20Is, since the start of 2019, he averages 45.50, striking the ball at 143.08.
Yet, with Dhawan making a strong recovery, following up his 32 off 29 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka with 52 off 36 in the decider, the senior player has again opened the floor for discussion.
Dhawan himself is playing it cool. “All three players are doing very well,” he said diplomatically. “Rohit, in particular, had an excellent 2019. Rahul has also done well in the last two months and he’s a really good player. Even I am in the picture, now that I’ve done well (laughs). It’s building up well … I don’t think about the competition since it’s not in my hands. I am happy with the fact that I could express myself in both opportunities I got.”
KL Rahul's continued consistent performances the key take away with the bat for India in this series. He leads CricViz's batting impact chart for the team since the start of 2019. Dhawan didn't disappoint this series, but still doesn't look the part compared to Rahul. #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/gxhQ540blH
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 10, 2020
So what does the team management do if it comes down to a choice between the two? Do they reward present form or past success? Performance or reputation?
Skipper Virat Kohli has deflected the question. “People need to stop pitting people against each other,” he said. “It’s all about a team game. The squad should be strong. I don’t endorse this idea of putting people in the team against each other. I don’t think that’s a healthy sign. People should be happy that we have such strong players performing for the country.
“All three are pretty strong players … It will all boil down to who’s batting better than the other person.”
For now, India should prime all three openers for the trip to Australia. Should one of them suddenly suffer a lean patch, they will have the option of a like-for-like substitution instead of trying to switch up the batting order, which might backfire.
As for who should be in the starting XI, Rahul does appear as the better bet to pair Rohit for now, but a decision can be made closer to the tournament based on performances in the assignments to come.
