Veteran India opening batter Shikhar Dhawan had a poor return with the bat during the recently concluded ODI series against Bangladesh. Dhawan managed scores of 7, 8 and 3 as India lost the series 1-2. In the final ODI, young opening batter Ishan Kishan scored the fastest ODI double-century of all time after coming into the side to replace India captain Rohit Sharma, who did not play the game due to a thumb injury. Having said that, India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was not part of the team for the series, has raised doubts over Dhawan’s future in the ODI team.
While highlighting the current form of youngsters like Kishan and Gill, Karthik felt that this could be the end of Dhawan’s ‘glorious ODI career’.
“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 said during a discussion on Cricbuzz.
With the ODI World Cup set to be held in 2023 in India, Karthik said that Dhawan might struggle to get into the playing XI.
“Interestingly, if Shubman Gill had been part of the squad, 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 and really makes it count. This is going to put Shikhar Dhawan in a fix,” he added.
Dhawan is only a part of India’s ODI setup, having been sidelined in both Tests and T20Is. He has also captained the Indian team on a few occasions in the 50-over format.