India vs Zimbabwe: Not good for Shikhar Dhawan to get replaced as a captain by KL Rahul, says Mohammad Kaif – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that as a player it is not good for Shikhar Dhawan to get replaced as India captain by KL Rahul ahead of the ODI series against Zimbabwe.

Notably, Rahul not only made it to the India squad for the Zimbabwe series at the last minute but also replaced Shikhar Dhawan as captain of the unit.

On Monday, BCCI issued an official statement that read,” The BCCI Medical Team has assessed KL Rahul and cleared him to play in the upcoming three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has appointed him the captain of the side and named Shikhar Dhawan as his deputy.”

The decision by the Indian cricket board left many fans and former players furious and disappointed as they believed it was disrespectful towards a senior player like Dhawan.

Meanwhile, Kaif said that the whole episode could have been avoided with better communication in the team management.

“The captaincy episode could have been avoided. Maybe KL Rahul’s medical report came in late, and it could be a case of miscommunication as well. If India would have played this series under Dhawan, as initially announced, I don’t think it would have bothered KL Rahul. But I totally agree, if someone has been announced as captain, he should remain as captain. Dhawan is an easy-going personality, but it isn’t right on a player,” Kaif said during a media interaction.

Kaif also praised Dhawan for his determination and said that the opener can still play for India across formats.

“There is a lot of cricket left in Shikhar Dhawan as he plays just one format for India. He scores heaps of runs in IPL as well and his call-up in just ODIs sometimes surprises me a bit. He is a better player and can play both T20Is and Tests as well. I salute him for his determination. Playing just one format and scoring tons of runs is not easy. Wherever he gets an opportunity, he continues to score runs. Whenever Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have played well together, India have been successful,” Kaif said.

It is worth mentioning that Dhawan had an impressive tour of the West Indies. In three ODIs, he scored 168 runs at an average of 56.00 with the best score of 97. His scores included two fifties.

Talking about India’s tour of Zimbabwe, the three-match ODI series will start on August 18 and go on till August 22. The first ODI between India and Zimbabwe will be played on Thursday in Harare.

India are coming to Zimbabwe after a successful tour of the West Indies in which they won both the ODI and T20I series. Zimbabwe are also hosting India after a series win in ODIs and T20Is against Bangladesh at home.

India squad for 3 ODIs: KL Rahul (captain) Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj and Deepak Chahar.

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