Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra reckons Shikhar Dhawan should have stayed as captain in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. The selectors had earlier named Dhawan as the captain for the series but when KL Rahul cleared the fitness test, he was added to the squad and named as skipper. The southpaw was demoted to the vice-captaincy role by the selectors.
Dhawan had led India in the three-match ODI series against West Indies and had taken the team to a 3-0 win. The left-hander had done a decent job while leading the team against the Windies.
“If it was in my hands, I would have avoided that. He (Rahul) was originally not named in the squad for the Zimbabwe series,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“I understand he is the vice-captain for the Asia Cup but there is another truth, that currently there are 8-10 captains in the team. Rishabh Pant is captain, Hardik Pandya is captain, and I do not think Suryakumar is far away from captaincy. Rohit Sharma is the captain, Virat Kohli has been the captain before. It was not important, this thing could have been avoided,” he added.
“Shikhar Dhawan is a senior guy, how does it matter if he is the captain? KL Rahul can play purely as a batter, it does not matter if he is the captain or not. You could have carried on with it, if you had announced Shikhar Dhawan as captain, you could have let it be. In my opinion, Dhawan should have stayed as the captain,” he added.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on KL Rahul as he is making a comeback to International cricket after almost six months. Rahul had last played for India in the home series against West Indies in February.
Furthermore, the flamboyant batter had led Lucknow Super Giants to the playoff stages in IPL 2022. The opener had amassed 616 runs in the tournament and had batted in top form.
Thus, Rahul will look to get the ball rolling in the series against Zimbabwe before the all-important Asia Cup while Shikhar Dhawan is not part of the multi-team tournament.
The first ODI between Zimbabwe and India will take place at Harare Sports Club, Harare on 18th August.
