Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels Shikhar Dhawan’s future in the ODI team is now uncertain after the left-hander was dropped from the three-match ODI squad against Sri Lanka. The left-hander has been under the scanner recently, averaging 34.40 with a strike rate of 74.21 in 2022.
Moreover, players like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have grabbed their chances in the ODI team. While Gill averaged more than 70 with a strike rate of 102.57 in 2022, Kishan struck a brilliant double century against Bangladesh to become the fourth Indian batter to achieve the milestone.
Meanwhile, Dhawan only plays in the 50-overs format and it will be difficult for him to return back to the squad.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Shikhar Dhawan – now this is a big story, that if Shikhar Dhawan is not part of the ODI team, what does it mean? Are you looking ahead or looking in a different direction? It seems very likely that they have turned away from Shikhar Dhawan, that they will not select him anymore. It is a possibility.”
“It’s a 50-over World Cup year. Shikhar is a single-format player. If you are not selecting him now also, it is not workload management. There could be two reasons for that – Shubman Gill has scored runs and so you have a problem making him sit out and the other is that Ishan Kishan has scored a double century.”
On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin played in the previous two editions of the T20 World Cup despite not being a regular member of the team. The renowned commentator feels Ashwin might once again come into the reckoning before the 50-overs World Cup as it will be hosted by India.
“Ravichandran Ashwin’s name is not there in all these scheme of things. His name was there in the T20 World Cup and played the one before that as well. Now the ODI World Cup is in India, his name might come one or two months before the World Cup because that happened before the last two World Cups.”
Chopra expressed his sadness on the omission of Rajat Patidar and Shahbaz Ahmed, who both were part of the series against Bangladesh but they are dropped for the series against Sri Lanka despite not getting their chances against the Tigers.
“You feel slightly sad thinking about Rajat Patidar and Shahbaz. They were with the Indian team for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh but neither of them got to play. Now they are not there in both the T20I and ODI teams. They will definitely be thinking what did they do wrong.”
The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Mumbai on January 3.
