Shikhar Dhawan is unfortunate to search out himself out of the Indian facet. (AFP)
The emergence of Shubman Gill has not made it straightforward for Shikhar Dhawan. The younger Punjab batsman has piled on 624 runs in 2023, together with two centuries and a double century.
India batsman Shikhar Dhawan has mentioned that he would have given the possibility to fellow opener Shubman Gill over himself had he been the nationwide selector or captain.
The left-handed batsman, who has a stellar report for India in ICC tournaments, mentioned in an interplay with Aaj Tak, “I really feel that Shubman (Gill) was taking part in two codecs and performing rather well in Tests in addition to T20s. He was taking part in extra matches within the worldwide circuit and I wasn’t. If I used to be the selector then positively would have given the possibility to Shubman. Would have chosen Shubman over Shikhar.”
Dhawan’s selfless attitude received praise not just from the interviewer, but also on social media. See the video here:
Dhawan had captained India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is in 2021 and 2022 but has not featured for the country after December 2022. In Tests, he has been out of the selectors’ radar since 2018. He was dropped from India’s squad for the ICC World T20 in 2021 and was not part of the ICC World T20 in 2022 either. Dhawan was not considered for the matches against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia this year and it looks increasingly apparent that the selectors and the team management have called time on Dhawan’s glittering India career.
The emergence of Gill in a big way has not made it easy for Dhawan either. He has piled on 624 runs in nine ODI innings in 2023, including two centuries and a double century. Gill was only 23 years and 132 days when he hit the rare ODI double ton against New Zealand in Hyderabad, making him the youngest man to do so.
He has hit centuries in both the shortest and longest formats this year too, with a 63-ball 126 not out against the Kiwis in a T20I in Ahmedabad, and a fine Test ton against Australia in the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the same venue, which incidentally, is also his home venue for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Considering Gill’s current form, he looks more or less a certainty to be captain Rohit Sharma’s opening partner in the ODI World Cup from October-November this year. Importantly, Gill has an edge over Dhawan in terms of age too: while he is just 23 years old, Dhawan is over 37 and near the age when cricketers usually retire.
However, all things considered, Dhawan has not been performing poorly in the ODI and T20I formats in recent times by any stretch of the imagination. He had scored 688 runs in 22 ODIs last year, and played some crucial knocks, including away half-centuries against South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. His 97 off 99 balls against the Windies at Port of Spain stood out. His ODI runs in 2022 stood in only second to Shreyas Iyer, with the star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not even anywhere close.
The year before, he had amassed 297 runs in six matches at an average of near-60. In the T20I format, his contributions included two near-fifties on sluggish pitches in Sri Lanka.
Dhawan, however, seemed to have paid the price for a poor run in Bangladesh, where he had scores of 7,8 and 3 as India went on to lose the series 1-2. Dhawan, therefore, should consider himself highly unlucky and considering the fact that he usually comes good in ICC events, it could make sense to keep him in the reckoning for the ICC World Cup this year.
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