Shikhar Dhawan, the veteran Indian opening batter, has acknowledged that he has dropped down in the Indian cricket team’s batting order due to the emergence of young talents such as Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. Dhawan, who had been a mainstay in the team for almost seven years, was dropped from the squad following a lean patch with the bat. Commenting on his sudden omission, Dhawan said that Gill’s performances across formats were too good to be overlooked.
‘I was consistent in ODIs in 2022. But there is this young guy who has been doing well in two formats, and when my form dipped in a series or two then they gave a chance to Shubman and he has lived up to their expectation,’ Dhawan said in an interview with AajTak.
Dhawan went on to say that although he had the support of head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, Kishan’s double hundred against Bangladesh in December 2022 made him realize that he could lose his spot in the Indian team. ‘When Ishan Kishan slammed a double century against Bangladesh, then for a moment I thought I could be out of the team,’ he added.
Dhawan also acknowledged that players often get dropped from the team due to a lean patch, and his case isn’t any different. ‘This is not something new in cricket. Or this happened just with me, plenty others have met with the same fate. When a captain, coach, and selector take a decision, they put plenty of thoughts into it,’ he said.
Dhawan will now turn his focus to the upcoming Indian Premier League, where he will represent the Punjab Kings (PBKS). The PBKS will begin their campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, April 1.
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