Former India cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra has recently said that Shikhar Dhawan, would be disappointed with his performances in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Notably, he also led the team. And according to Chopra, Dhawan missed a chance to leave an impact to be in the T20 World Cup.
Dhawan scored 46 and 40 in the first two T20Is before getting out for a duck in the deciding T20I on Thursday as well. Playing with a rather inexperienced playing XI after COVID-19 hit the Indian camp, India faced a defeat in the series by 1-2.
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While claiming that Shikhar Dhawan can still be in the T20 World Cup squad as he has another chance to impress when the second phase of Indian Premier League will resume, Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “I am sure Shikhar Dhawan would be a little disappointed. I would not say that his performance was that determining factor with regards to whether or not he would be in the T20 World Cup squad. The IPL is still to come and one cannot judge Dhawan on the basis of three T20I matches. But he could definitely have strengthened his case for the T20 World Cup by scoring more runs. Shikhar Dhawan would be gutted. And he got out (for a duck) in the deciding match.”
He also felt that youngsters like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Rana have all missed out on a great opportunity to prove their talent at the international level. While they all have the capability to do well, they couldn’t against Sri Lanka and India eventually lost the T20I series as well.
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“Ruturaj Gaikwad looked good in the two innings he played but got out before he could convert the starts. Devdutt Padikkal looked completely out of sorts in the third T20I. He was out lbw and then run out as well. It just showed that he felt he pressure. Nitish Rana played one ODI and two T20Is but couldn’t score many. It was definitely an opportunity missed,” concluded Aakash Chopra.
