India’s veteran batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the ODI series against Sri Lanka. What was feared happened on Tuesday (December 27). Dhawan’s name was not in the ODI team. Since then, the fans started speculating that he would no longer be seen in Team India’s jersey. The selectors are thinking about the future. If Dhawan is not selected again then his pairing with Rohit Sharma will not be seen.

Dhawan and Rohit Sharma formed a formidable opening pair for India in ODIs. Together they shared a partnership of 5193 runs in 117 innings. Dhawan and Rohit finished second in terms of adding the most runs. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly did more than him. Both added 8227 runs in 176 innings. Dhawan and Rohit are at seventh place in terms of most successful pairs in the world.

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Will the trio of Dhawan-Rohit and Kohli break?

From 2013 to 2019, Dhawan’s performance was the best. He formed a formidable trio along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. All three played well in the top order and won a lot of matches for the team. With these three, the middle order could not get a chance to play. In most of the matches, one or the other of Dhawan, Rohit and Kohli used to play big innings. Everything changed after the Corona epidemic. All three could play together on very few occasions. Dhawan limited to ODI format only.

Why was Shikhar Dhawan out of Team India?

The selectors gave Dhawan frequent opportunities in ODIs. Compared to previous years, Dhawan’s game has declined. Although his average did not go below 30, he was not able to play big innings like before. Due to this the pressure started increasing on him and now he dropped from the team.

Dhawan’s age is not on his side now. He has turned 37. Several players are queuing up to take his place. Batsmen like Shubman Gill, Ishaan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad have been consistently performing at different levels. The selectors have now made up their mind to replace him with youngsters.

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In the last five innings, Dhawan could not even score 50 runs. He has scored only 49 runs in total. He has flopped badly after his 72-run innings against New Zealand in the first ODI. And scored three more 28 runs in the next two matches against the Kiwis. In Bangladesh, Dhawan played only innings of seven, eight and three runs.

Does Dhawan have a chance to make a comeback?

Dhawan may not have been selected yet, but he is going to get a big chance to make a comeback. Dhawan is the captain of Punjab Kings in IPL. If he succeeds in making a splash in the upcoming season, then he may come back. If Dhawan has to play in the ODI World Cup at home next year, he will have to attract everyone’s attention with his performance in the IPL. At the same time, if Dhawan does not bat, then his career can also end.

  • Dhawan holds the record for scoring a century in a Test match and getting out for zero. In 2014, in a Test match against New Zealand at Auckland, Dhawan scored zero in the first innings and 115 in the second.
  • Dhawan scored a century in his 100th ODI. He scored 109 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2018.
  • Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for India in the 2015 ODI World Cup. He scored 412 runs in eight matches including two centuries and one half-century.
  • Dhawan is the only player to get two consecutive golden bats in the ICC Champions Trophy. The golden bat is given to the cricketer who scores the most runs in the tournament. In the 2013 Champions Trophy, Dhawan scored 363 runs in five matches. During this, his average was 90.75. At the same time, in 2017, Dhawan scored 338 runs in five matches. His average was 67.60. In 2013, Team India became the champion by defeating England. At the same time, in 2017, the final against Pakistan was lost.
  • In 2021, Shikhar Dhawan was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution to sports.