INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

Shikhar Dhawan ousted from home series against Sri Lanka

Shikhar Dhawan

The outgoing selection committee has not mentioned the name of India opener Shikhar Dhawan for the Sri Lanka series.

The veteran opener has failed to secure a spot in the Indian squad because of his lackadaisical performances.

Shubman Gill with his fantastic performances gets a place in the squad for this series.

The likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli have also been selected for the ODI matches.

This surprise ousting has raised many eyebrows among people outside of the BCCI.

Dhawan’s stats for the year 2022 in ODI cricket

Overall, India has played only 24 ODIs this year. Dhawan has played in 22 of them while he has been skipper in 9 ODIs during the West Indies and New Zealand tours.

Additionally, Dhawan has also scored 688 runs this year. Only Shreyas Iyer has more ODI runs than him which is 724.

For Dhawan, it is not an excuse for workload management because he is only playing a single format of cricket since 2021.

Gill was not chosen for the ODI series against Bangladesh because the BCCI went ahead with Dhawan’s experience.

However, Dhawan failed to give any positive contribution in all three matches because of which he has been shown the door.

Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh gives his opinion on Shikhar Dhawan

On the other hand, India’s former right-arm medium pacer, Dodda Ganesh feels that Dhawan is still a very good ODI player and should have been given a place in the squad.

He says,

Does this mean it’s the end of the road for Shikhar Dhawan as an international cricketer? He was a mighty-fine ODI batter and won India many a games and tournaments. It’s really unfortunate if his career ends in this fashion.

After the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir, India had a fine opening pair in Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan who won many matches around the world.

By the start of 2023, India is going to get a new selection committee that will select players for future series.

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