Virat Kohli justifies Shikhar Dhawan's selection over KL Rahul

After losing a close game in Cape Town, India will now fear another series defeat overseas. The Indian team has never managed to win a Test series in South Africa. There were a lot of expectations from Virat Kohli and his men to make history this time around.

Following the game, there were a couple of questions raised, pertaining to the team selection. The Indian skipper justified the decision to persist with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma over KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane. Lots of experts debated over the choice since the commencement of the Test.

A left-hander always helps

Justifying the move of playing Rohit over Rahane, Kohli remarked that the team was selected on the basis of current form more than anything else. The limited-overs opener displayed some tremendous form and even scored a century against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Rahane had a horrible series.

Talking about Shikhar Dhawan’s inclusion, Virat supported it. He asserted the importance of a left-hander in the Indian lineup that boasts of prominent right-handed batsmen. The Indian skipper explained that he didn’t want the bowlers to settle to a particular line or length.

“Well, a left-hander always helps. That is what we felt. They have got two including Quinton de Kock and Dean Elgar in their batting order. It is difficult for bowlers to set up their lines and lengths everytime the strike is rotating well,” Kohli said as the teams now have their eye on the Centurian game.

He further recounted that the left-right formula had worked for them in the past. The skipper felt that it was necessary to create plans in order to take away any momentum from the Proteas. In his view, if the opening combination could get it right from the start, it would be key for the visitors.

He added, “It has worked for us in the recent past and that is something that definitely a lot of teams go with in international cricket because you don’t want to the bowlers to settle against one kind of batsman at one line and length, especially with the new ball. We have to try and create plans that we feel will not let the opposition gain momentum from very early on in the game. That is the idea behind that.”

The third Test is scheduled to be played at the Centurion starting Saturday.