What happened when Ravi Shastri persuaded Virat Kohli to include Shikhar Dhawan in playing XI

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was at the helm when India reached the peak of their powers and registered famous victories in Lords and in Australia, Down Under. Shashtri, in a recent interview, revealed an interesting incident when he convinced Virat Kohli to include Shikhar Dhawan in the playing XI. 

The incident happened after the Champions Trophy in 2017 when India toured Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series. Murali Vijay, one of India’s frontline openers couldn’t recover in time from a wrist surgery he underwent sometime ago, and thus the management was in a dilemma. 

Shastri, revealed how in came a batter who had not been in the mix for a long time, and even Virat Kohli wasn’t convinced, but Shastri himself was sure that the move would pay off. 

Shikhar Dhawan, who had starred for the Men in Blue in the Champions Trophy, finished as the top scorer in the tournament, with 338 at a staggering average of 67.60. 

Shastri recalled how he tried to persuade Virat Kohli to include Dhawan in the playing XI, as Vijay’s replacement, but the Indian skipper was not too sure. 

Speaking on Star Sports’ show ‘The Bold and Brave, The Ravi Shastri Way’, the former Indian all-rounder revealed, “I remember one when people talk about selection… and it was a great selection. Shikhar Dhawan, he was not going to play, he was not in the mix. He had a good Champions trophy. I went to Virat and said, ‘this is guy’, but he said ‘no’. He said ‘we were thinking about giving someone a run. So we thought we will carry on with this process.”

Ravi Shastri revealed how he continued to persist on Dhawan’s inclusion in the team and how the move paid off stunningly as the Southpaw struck 190 off just 168 balls on Day 1 itself. 

“I said ‘No, give this guy a go. He is looking dangerous. He is looking good. If he gets going, he will win you the match in a session. First game he plays, he gets 190 before tea. That was it. The stamp on the series was right there. And then once they lost the first game, it was one after the other,” added Shastri further. 

Meanwhile, Kohli and co. are currently gearing up for the third Test of the ongoing series versus South Africa, which is currently tied at 1-1.