Indian skipper Virat Kohli reportedly argued with the selectors in order to include Shikhar Dhawan for the ODI series against England earlier this year. According to a report in cricket addictor, the left-handed Dhawan was out of favor with the national selectors. However, Kohli asserted that Dhawan’s place in the side is a ‘must’. “Much of it could be put down to what transpired during India’s home series against England. Dhawan wasn’t considered by the newly-appointed (at that time) selection committee even in his best format, the ODIs. They were looking at grooming potential prospects for the future. " “One of their main choices was an opener who had performed well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Although the player’s name isn’t revealed according to the reports, it’s assumed to be either Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal. However, 32-year-old Kohli insisted on having Dhawan as the partner of Rohit Sharma at the top,” the report further stated.
For the unversed, Virat Kohli, announced his decision to step down as Team India’s T20I skipper after the conclusion of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Kohli has played 90 T20Is for India, and captained them in 45 of those matches, leading the side to victory in 27 of them. The 32-year-old stated that he’d come to the decision after “a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people” as well as the leadership group, including Ravi Shastri, the head coach, and Rohit Sharma, India’s limited-overs vice-captain. Kohli cited the "immense workload" he has been managing for most of the last decade, as an all-format player and as captain, as the reason for his decision. “Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats, and captaining regularly for the last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI cricket," Kohli said. The BCCI are as yet to announce Kohli's successor as captain in the format. His decision comes a little over a week after the selection committee announced India's squad for the World Cup.
