Shikhar Dhawan’s future with Indian team in doubt after Ishan Kishan’s double ton

Ishan Kishan’s scintillating double century against Bangladesh in the third ODI on Saturday not only helped him put his hat in the ring for Team India’s berth in the 2023 ODI World Cup, but also put a big question mark on Shikhar Dhawan’s career.

Having been ignored from India’s T20I setup for quite a time now, Dhawan’s only option to prolong his career was to deliver consistently in ODIs but the southpaw has definitely missed the trick.

Notably, Dhawan has received the backing of the team management and in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, he has even led the Men in Blue in several ODI series this year. But the veteran opener has failed miserably to capitalise on the opportunities and had been in poor form throughout the year.

In his last 10 ODIs, Dhawan has registered scores of 3, 8, 7, 28, 3, 72, 8, 13, 4 and 40. His overall ODI stats in the year 2022 are no less than a nightmare as the 37-year-old scored 688 runs at an average of 34.4 and a strike rate of 74.21. His dot ball percentage is 60.

Moreover, in the recently-concluded series against Bangladesh, Dhawan managed to score 7, 8, and 3 across the three ODIs and there are high chances that the batter’s dismal show against the Tigers is the last nail in the coffin as far as his international career is concerned.

Team India’s next assignment is the home series against Sri Lanka consisting of three T20Is and as many ODIs. Given the fact that the 2023 ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place in India, is not too far, the management will be eager to identify the player who can open with skipper Rohit Sharma in the marquee tournament and with young, talented, and in-form batters like Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill already waiting in the wings, the management will in all probability ignore out-of-form Dhawan thus signaling the end of the road for him.

– Quotes Corner –

‘Could be a sad end to a glorious career’: Dinesh Karthik

“For Sri Lanka series, where does Dhawan stand? It is going to be interesting to see how they are going to leave out Ishan Kishan. Shubman Gill has been doing so well. If Rohit Sharma is available, somebody has to miss out. It could well be him (Dhawan). That could be a sad end to a glorious career. But some questions to answer for the new selectors,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“Interestingly, if Shubman Gill had been part of the squad (for Bangladesh series), he would have probably opened because he has been doing it for some time with aplomb. Ishan Kishan, given an opportunity, has taken it with both hands. This is going to put Shikhar Dhawan in a fix,” he added.

‘It will depend on the team management’: Saba Karim

“It will depend on the team management, that what sort of cricket they are wanting to play. If the team management still believes that 275-300 is their aim, then you need Shikhar Dhawan because he is still that kind of a player,” former India selector Saba Karim said when asked if he sees Dhawan playing 50-over cricket going forward.

“It is a different thing that he has not scored runs in this series. But if you give him an opportunity again and tell him that we have to score 275-300 only, Shikhar Dhawan’s place will be there till the World Cup. But if we have decided that our par score will be 325-350, there is no place for Dhawan,” he added during a discussion on Sony Sports.

Time to address the ‘problem of plenty’

With the plethora of talent available at their disposal, one challenge that Team India management has faced constantly in recent years has been the problem of plenty. It’s one thing to give opportunities to talented players but another to know how, when and which player to use as per the situation.

Kishan, who smashed multiple records on Saturday, was not even in the playing XI for the first two ODI’s against Bangladesh as there was no place left for an opening batter with skipper Rohit Sharma and Dhawan in the squad. But, with former getting injured, Kishan finally got the opportunity and he made the most of it by slamming a double ton to become the first player to convert a maiden hundred into a double.

Not only this, Kishan also became the youngest player to score a double ton in men’s ODIs and he even achieved the feat in fewest balls (126).

Surely, what Kishan achieved is more than commendable and it will probably stand for some time to come, but the sad part is that his historic innings was always inconsequential from the context of the series as India had already lost the opening two games.

Now the questions which are perturbing the fans and experts are: Why was Kishan not given chance early in the series? Why did the management pick struggling Dhawan over Kishan? Why didn’t they utilise their resources properly?, and more.

Sadly, there are no clear answers to these questions, and on top of that, the team management often fails to back their words with their actions.

The same team management who has been advocating a ‘fearless approach’ and ‘attack brand of cricket’ since last year, is not making proper usage of ‘pocket dynamite’ Ishan Kishan and that is indeed perplexing.

With the advantage of playing at home, the ODI World Cup next year is a glorious chance for India to get their hands on an ICC Trophy almost after a decade. However, the first and major step towards achieving the goal is to identify the players who can deliver whenever the team needs them to, and for that the India management and selectors need to step up, justify their decisions, and make the most out of resources at their disposal.

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