India opener Shikhar Dhawan has cleared all the fitness tests and is available for selection for the Sri Lanka T20I series which takes place early in January 2020. Dhawan was a part of the squad for the ongoing West Indies series but was ruled out due to a knee injury which he suffered during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Maharashtra.
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He first missed the three T20Is and was later ruled out of ODI series as well. Sanju Samson was recalled in the T20I squad while Mayank Agarwal was called up as Dhawan’s replacement for ODIs.
A fit-again Dhawan will surely be part of the T20I squad for the series against Sri Lanka but he might not be an automatic selection in the playing XI now. In his absence, KL Rahul scored 164 runs in the three T20Is against West Indies and is likely to keep his spot. Dhawan might only get a chance in the playing XI if the selectors rest either of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
The left-handed will also be back in the squad for the Australia ODIs and holds an edge over Rahul to be in the playing XI. However, if Rahul does well in third ODI as well, then the team management will have to make Dhawan sit out.
Rahul scored six in the first ODI in Chennai and followed up with a knock of 102 in the second ODI. His performance in the third ODI in Cuttack will have a great stay in deciding whether he keeps his place in playing XI or not.
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India play three T20Is (against Sri Lanka) and three ODIs (against Australia) in January before flying to New Zealand. The thee T20Is will be played on January 5, 7 and 10 in Guwahati, Indore and Pune, respectively. Mumbai, Rajkot and Bengaluru will host the three ODIs on January 14, 17 and 19, respectively.
The selection committee is expected to name the squads for both the series next week.