India lost the first Test against England at Edgbaston and it was expected that they will make some changes to their squad in the second Test at Lord’s.
Cricket news: Dhawan has scored more runs than Vijay, then why is he dropped, says Gavaskar
As expected during the toss Virat Kohli said that the management has decided to add Cheteshwar Pujara and Kuldeep Yadav at the cost of Shikhar Dhawan.
While many have wanted to see Kuldeep in the whites again but many experts like the former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar did not expect to see Dhawan getting axed.
Dhawan looked very much positive in the Edgbaston Test with his footwork, shots and also by the way he got out while trying to play the shot.
Gavaskar thinks that Dhawan was made the scapegoat as he had scored more runs (26 and 13) than his opening partner Murali Vijay (20 and 6).
The legendary player also said that if the management does not give Dhawan more than a Test, then he does not find the point of choosing him in the squad for overseas tour.
“I don’t agree with this decision (to drop Shikhar Dhawan). Shikhar Dhawan is always being made the scapegoat. In the last match, he scored more runs than Murali Vijay. It is not right to drop him after every match. If you have to drop him after every match, why do you take him on tour?,” Gavaskar said while speaking on Sony during the broadcast.
The management had decided to use KL Rahul as the opener and Cheteshwar Pujara was slotted in the No. 3 spot.
Former Indian player VVS Laxman has also agreed with Gavaskar. He said all the four openers in the likes of Vijay, Dhawan, Rahul and Pujara have almost same average in overseas conditions. So if Dhawan is considered as a failure, then so are all.
“I am really surprised at why the axe has to fall on Shikhar Dhawan and not the other batsmen. When the numbers say that it’s not only Dhawan who has been struggling since 2015 overseas, it’s all the top four batsmen. Yes, he didn’t have the numbers backing him but neither did the other three batsmen,” Laxman said while talking on ESPNCricinfo.