Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra answers the most discussed topic of recent times regarding Shikhar Dhawan – “Will Dhawan play in ODI World Cup 2023“?
Will Dhawan play in ODI World Cup 2023
Will Dhawan play in ODI World Cup 2023: When speaking about the Indian opening players Shikhar Dhawan is the name that used to hit the list but the left-hander has been missing the ODI since December 2022.
Dhawan played his last ODI game on December 10, 2022 against Bangladesh at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Following the rise of youngsters for the opening slot, Dhawan’s position becomes under the radar.
There were reports that Dhawan will be considered for the Asian Games but the Indian selectors opted for a young side with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal being the opening batter choices.
Speaking on the probabilities of Dhawan’s inclusion in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Chopra said “Shikhi boy’s name should have been on this list but it seems like it won’t be there because his name is not there for the West Indies tour as well and you didn’t put his name for the Asian Games too. Aisa lagta hain ke team ne mooh mod sa liya hain (So it seems like the team has turned away from him)”.
Dhawan last played for India in an ODI encounter against Bangladesh back in December 2022. Chopra reiterated that the left-hander did not do much wrong but was replaced because of other options who were equally proficient in all three formats.
“When he played the last World Cup, he had a fracture and went out but not before scoring a century in that match as well. There is no competition for him in ODI cricket but at this point in time it doesn’t look like the Indian selectors or team management are thinking about him at all.”
“It is like you are doing very well but suddenly someone comes and because he is a three-format player and is doing well in multiple places, he goes ahead of you. You say – ‘I never lost in the race but what happened actually? Some other player won some other race, so why was I dropped?”, said on his YouTube channel.
In his last ODI match against Bangladesh in Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Dhawan scored 3 runs off 8 balls and dismissed of Mehidy Hasan Miraz‘s delivery at an early stage of the match.
In the same match, Ishan Kishan who opened alongside Dhawan scored his record-breaking ODI double century.
