'He has proved himself time and again, I'm surprised he's been omitted'- Farokh Engineer on Shikhar Dhawan's T20 World Cup snub

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played between October 17 and November 14 in the UAE and Oman, on September 9. While the team named looks all bases covered, it had a few surprising omissions nonetheless. Indian off-spinner R Ashwin returned to the limited-overs fold after 2017, but the team had no place for Shikhar Dhawan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya.

While Dhawan is understood to have missed out on his spot to KL Rahul, Rahul Chahar was preferred over Chahal. Opening up regarding the former’s exclusion, former Indian wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer said that he was surprised and disappointed to see India not picking Dhawan, although he reckoned that the team chosen is “very good” and has everything in it to win the tournament.

Dhawan has proved himself time and again: Farokh Engineer

“Shikhar Dhawan… well, I’m surprised that he has been omitted because he has come in and done fantastically well. But that is such a huge problem for the Indian selectors that players such as Dhawan are getting to be dropped, which is a huge disappointment because he would walk into any international team as a batsman. He has proved himself time and again and I don’t think a player of his calibre should be on trial,” Engineer told Sports Tak.

“But who do you drop? KL Rahul has done very well. He is superb; one of the best batsmen in the world, I think. Rohit Sharma is on top of his form. Still, I think it’s a very good team they have picked and I think we have every chance of winning the T20 World Cup,” he added.

Team India chief selector revealed during a virtual press on the day of the squad announcement, however, that Dhawan remains to be an important player for the team. “Shikhar is a very important player for us. Can’t disclose the discussion. He is in the loop. We thought the need of the hour was to look at others and rest him,” he told reporters.