Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who is out of favor, said that sometimes a bad harvest for a month or two undoes all the hard work done during the year. He admitted that he was very much in captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid’s plans for the ICC World Cup, but he also said that it had become difficult for him to rejoin the Indian team due to the growth of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan.
“In cricket, this is nothing new. Or maybe this just occurred to me; many others have suffered the same fate. There are times when you do well throughout the year, but then your form falters for a month or two, and sometimes that outperforms your whole performance. The decisions made by the captain, coach, and selector are carefully considered “During a conversation with Aaj Tak, Dhawan stated.
“When Rohit took over as captain, he and Rahul Dravid sufficiently supported me. They advised me to concentrate on my cricket and that the next World Cup should be my goal. I had a great year in 2022 and played consistently in ODIs. Yet, there is a young man who has been succeeding in both formats. When my form faltered in one or two series, Shubman was given an opportunity, and he has lived up to their expectations. We’ve experienced this before. I almost considered leaving the squad after Ishan Kishan struck a double century against Bangladesh “Dhawan went on.
Dhawan had a strong 2022, accumulating 688 runs in 22 innings, more than top batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma combined, but less than Shreyas Iyer’s 724 runs. He scored 297 runs in six ODIs in 2021, averaging 59.4 with a remarkable strike rate of 91.95. As the first team players were away competing in important series over the previous two years, Dhawan captained the Indian team on a few occasions as well.
He could only score 7, 8 and 3 in the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh before the close of last year, and India went on to lose the series 1-2 as a result. In that series, when Dhawan battled, Kishan came out to play a scorching 210 from 131 balls in Chattogram. Since it was the quickest ODI double century, many began to consider him as a possible replacement for Dhawan as Rohit’s partner in the 50-over format.
When he had the chance, Gill applied pressure. A century and a half-century against Sri Lanka in January was followed by a century and a double-century against New Zealand for the young Punjab batsmen. Gill was the youngest man ever, even though Kishan’s double ton was the quickest.
This year, Gill has also scored hundreds in the other two forms, and he is starting to seem like a lock to participate in the ICC World Cup, which will be held later in the year. The 37-year-old Dhawan’s opportunities in the Indian setup may be limited with the youthful guns Kishan and Gill in charge.
Dhawan had previously told PTI that there was still a potential for him to rejoin the Indian team. He did admit, however, that Gill had been doing better than he had, and that if he had been the captain or a national selector, he would have chosen Gill over himself.
