Shikhar Dhawan to Lead India in South Africa ODIs as T20 WC-bound Players Likely to be Rested: Report

Veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan will once again be leading the Indian team in the upcoming ODIs against South Africa at home, starting October 6 in Lucknow. The 3-match series will commence after as many T20s, to be played in Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Indore on September 28, October 2 and 4, respectively.

According to news agency ANI, the captaincy will be handed over to Dhawan as T20 World Cup-bound players are likely to be rested. Also, former India batter and NCA chief VVS Laxman is likely to be with the team as a coach in absence of head coach Rahul Dravid, the report added.

Dhawan may not be in India’s scheme of things as far as the T20Is are concerned. But when it comes to the 50-over format, he is one of the crucial cogs in the side. Earlier in July, he had led India to a 3-0 clean sweep against the West Indies.

He was scheduled to captain the Indian team in Zimbabwe ODIs as well in August. However, the selector decided to hand the leadership to KL Rahul who was making a comeback after an injury lay-off. Under the latter’s leadership, the Men in Blue affected a 3-0 whitewash over before heading for the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE.

It remains to be seen if Virat Kohli is considered for the ODIs against South Africa. The former Indian skipper returned to form in the recent-concluded Asia Cup 2022. After scoring back-to-back fifties, against Hong Kong and Pakistan, the former Indian scored an unbeaten 122 off 61 deliveries in the last Super 4 game against Afghanistan. It was not just his 71st international century but also the first in the shortest format of the game.

The eighth edition of the ICC T20 World Cup is set to take place from October 16 to November 13 this year in Australia. It has been learned that the BCCI is likely to announce the squad for the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2022 on Monday. The committee of selectors is scheduled to hold a meeting in the afternoon where a decision will be taken on the final fifteen for the mega ICC event, starting October 16 in Australia.

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