Shikhar Dhawan has been a part of the ODI team since 2013 and he has been one of the pillars of the batting order and he has been opening the batting with Rohit Sharma and they have been one of the most prolific opening pairs in Indian batting history.
This question is arising because of his recent form in ODIs and this is the only format that he plays so there is a greater scrutiny on him. Shikhar Dhawan is one of the favorites in the cricket betting market of icc and overseas tournaments. He has been a big match player who can forget his performance in ICC Champions trophy 2013. So if he will be playing in the 2023 ODI World Cup, his stakes will be high on the best betting sites in India as he will like to leave a mark for his country at the biggest stage.
Before we get into this important question it is important to know the stats that Shikhar Dhawan has accumulated in ODIs over the past decade.
Shikhar Dhawan has been Mr ICC for India in ODI tournaments and this is one of the main reasons why the Indian National Cricket Team persists with him but now that competition is there for the slot it will be important for him to score runs and at a good strike rate. So, let’s ponder over this question.
Shikhar Dhawan Stats in ODI
Format | ODIs |
Matches | 167 |
Runs scored | 6793 |
Batting average | 44.1 |
100s/50s | 17/39 |
Top score | 143 |
Catches | 83 |
He played his first ODI on 20th October 2010 and he is still going strong. However his coming off age was in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy where he was promoted to the top of the order and he never looked back. Shikhar Dhawan was the 5th fastest to 6000 ODI runs when he achieved it in 140 Innings. Dhawan is also currently the 3rd highest run getter among active India players after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He will be close to 38 during next year's World Cup and in ODIs in the last two years, he has scored nearly 1000 runs. This is the only international format he plays. But his recent form in ODI is somewhat worrying as in the series vs Bangladesh, He only was able to score 18 runs in the 3 ODIs.
Now let’s check out the stats of Shikhar Dhawan in ICC events, Where he has been very impressive.
Shikhar Dhawan in ICC Events
Event | Runs | 100s/50s |
2013 ICC Champions Trophy | 363 | 2/1 |
2015 ICC ODI World Cup | 412 | 2/1 |
2017 ICC Champions Trophy | 338 | 1/2 |
2019 ICC ODI World Cup | 125 | 1/0 |
Why is Dhawan’s position in the 2023 ODI World Cup under the radar?
Shikhar Dhawan’s strike rate has been an issue in recent times. But he has failed to play aggressively in Power plays.
A number of new openers in line like Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill etc. are giving him a good challenge.
Rohit Sharma is mostly fixed as the opener at one end who is also playing at the strike rate of 88.
Will Shikhar Dhawan play in the 2023 ODI World Cup?
Now let’s talk about our question and this is a complex one because one cannot just drop a player like him based on a few bad performances and he has been a great servant for India in this format. The Indian team for 2023 world cup will certainly consider him as the opening batsman. However, there is significant competition for him in this format as Shubman Gill is doing very well and he is the future of Indian cricket and then there is Ruturaj Gaekwad who had one incredible Vijay Hazare Trophy season. Then there is Prithvi Shaw who is waiting for his opportunity to show that he is on this level. Ishan Kishan scored the fastest 200 recently and is also knocking on the door.
Saba Karim, Ex BCCI selector recently said in a discussion on Sony Sports “If we want to play cricket to score 275-300 runs only, then he will be there till the world cup. But if we want to score 325-350, there is no place for Dhawan.”
He further added that “a lot will depend on the selectors and the team management, the captain, what expectation you have. If you expect that Shikhar Dhawan will play a big knock at a strike rate of 130-140 in a 350-run game, it is not going to happen”
But still I feel that the team management should persist with Shikhar Dhawan for some period of time and see whether he does well or if his strike rate improves and if after consistent Chances he is not able to deliver the performances that is expected from him then the team can look for other options but first he should be given a proper run.
