Shikhar Dhawan not playing: The Indian opening batsman hasn’t been included in the Indian Playing XI for the second T20I tonight.
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During the second T20I of the ongoing England’s tour of India in Ahmedabad, India captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and chose to field as the hosts look to draw level in the series after losing the first match.
“We are going to bowl first. Looks like the track was a bit up and down with no dew last game. So, we feel better to bowl first and restrict. We are a side that is looking to get away from templates,” Kohli told Star Sports at the toss.
England captain Eoin Morgan, who had won the toss and chose to field in the first match, hoped to post a challenging total on the board as his bowlers will have to bowl under dew at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Suffering a niggle, England have rested fast bowler Mark Wood for this match.
“Another really good wicket in store, doesn’t look high scoring but hopefully we can put up a good enough score to challenge them. Mark Wood hasn’t pulled up well, Tom Curran takes his place,” Morgan told Star Sports at the toss.
Why is Shikhar Dhawan not playing today’s 2nd T20I between India and England?
As far as the changes for India are concerned, they have continued to make astonishing changes to their Playing XI. Indian Premier League defending champions Mumbai Indians pair of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav have earned debuts tonight.
It is worth mentioning that Kishan and Yadav have replaced opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and all-rounder Axar Patel in the XI. The same means that India will take the field with a bowler short tonight.
“[Shikhar] Dhawan is missing this game. Axar [Patel] is not part as well. Suryakumar [Yadav] and Ishan Kishan are making their debuts,” Kohli added.
It’s a matter of pride when someone gets an opportunity to represent their country. Both @surya_14kumar and @ishankishan51 earned their spot through sheer performances. Hopefully they will play to their potential and contribute in tonight’s game. Good luck👍 #IndvEng pic.twitter.com/y35J8ifGZ1
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 14, 2021
Dhawan, who had scored a lacklustre 4 (12) while opening the batting alongside Lokesh Rahul in the last match, has been benched as hinted by Kohli before the series.
While Dhawan continues to be India’s third opener in this format, he has benched to give more chances to others as the home team is looking to experiment ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. With white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma once again missing a match, Kishan is slated to open the batting alongside Rahul.
