Highlights
- Dhawan played his last Test match against England at Kennington Oval, Sep 07, 2018
- Shikhar Dhawan was India's skipper in the recently concluded West Indies series
- Dhawan was initially named the skipper for Zimbabwe series but was later replaced by KL Rahul
ZIM vs IND| Team India has been on a cricket playing spree and their experimentation with the playing eleven in different formats continues. India had a horrendous 2021 ICC T20I World Cup which called for major changes to take place in the team management and the team composition. With the abundance of talent that this Indian team has, they have now segregated teams for different formats and different oppositions. This also helps the management to rotate players across formats and manage the heavy workload which at times burdens the players who participate in all three formats.
Team India is looking forward to the Asia Cup as of now, after which they will be eyeing the T20I World Cup which is scheduled to be played in Australia this year. The Indian team is currently stationed in Zimbabwe where they will play 3 ODI matches under head coach VVS Laxman and skipper KL Rahul.
In a sudden change of events, KL Rahul was handed over the captaincy duties from left-handed batter Shikhar Dhawan. The Delhi-based Dhawan who recently became the first Indian captain to inflict a clean-sweep on the West Indies in their backyard was initially supposed to lead India in Zimbabwe. KL Rahul was doubtful for the trip as he was down and out with a groin injury. It was well known that Rahul will gain full fitness before the Asia Cup and will join the Indian team, but his appointment as the skipper of the Indian team on the Zimbabwe tour at the last moment raised many eyebrows.
As of now Shikhar Dhawan is playing only the ODI format for team India and has been doing fairly well while leading the youngsters of the side. KL Rahul returning to the side means that he will open the Indian innings along with Dhawan, but how Rahul replaced Dhawan as the skipper has raised many questions about the management's approach towards him. At times, the Punjab Kings batsman has been extremely vocal about how he is preparing for the ODI World Cup, but his future with the team remains in doubt and will largely depend upon how he plays in all the chances that he gets.
