Ahead of India's ODI squad announcement for upcoming South Africa tour, former Indian selector Saba Karim has raised questions over Shikhar Dhawan's place in the side. Karim’s statement on Dhawan has just added insult to injury. Despite a decent IPL show, India’s star southpaw, Dhawan is yet to make it to Indian squad since Sri Lanka tour in June where he led the second-string team.
“Even if Dhawan is there in the squad, will he be part of the playing XI? K. L. Rahul and Rohit Sharma have opened in Tests and T20s, so I think they will open in ODIs as well. So, if you are including Dhawan in the squad and not playing him, should he be in the team," Saba said of left-handed opener on his Youtube channel.
The All India Selection Committee has already announced the Test squad for the South Africa tour but is yet to pick the ODI squad. While young guns Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer are hogging the limelight with their century rush in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, Dhawan is going through a rough patch with the willow as he has only been able to muster 44 runs across four matches in the same event.
“It would be difficult for Shikhar Dhawan to come back into this side. I still think that he should be given one more opportunity because he is a big player with experience. Have to see what the selectors and the team management think. I don’t think Delhi will qualify for the knockouts, so Dhawan has to prove by scoring runs and he only has one more match to do so," Saba added.
Despite the credential and experience, the time is ticking away for 36-year-old Dhawan, who was once India’s celebrated opener in white-ball cricket.
