Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said Shikhar Dhawan’s non-selection in India’s World Cup squad could be the end of the road for him in international cricket. However, the selectors recently named a 15-member provisional Indian squad for the upcoming mega event to be played in India from October 5. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are the two specialist openers in the side, with Ishan Kishan as the backup as well.
While talking about that in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated: “If we look towards Shikhar Dhawan’s ODI career, he doesn’t play T20Is in any case, where does he stand and is it actually almost over because the next World Cup is very far away – 2027? I am not writing an obituary, that he is done and won’t play again, but it is slightly difficult for sure because if the next World Cup is in 2027 and he is not picked in T20Is, it will become very difficult to play for India. Even if that happens, I would say Shikhar Dhawan should be extremely proud of what he has done.”
However, Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t played an ODI since last December and he doesn’t seem to be on the radar currently. However, Dhawan has amassed 6793 runs at an average of 44.11 in 167 ODIs as well. Meanwhile, the veteran praised him for taking his omission in the right spirit.
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He again shared: “The guy is doing a classy job. When the team was announced, a lot of people, including myself, felt he had been wronged, that his name should have been in that list, that he should have been in the scheme of things, but he is not there. When the team was announced, he could be bitter, but he wasn’t bitter. If you see the last five to seven years, Shikhar Dhawan is not bitter. He has started viewing things with great maturity. I know the 20-year-old Shikhar, he used to be a different boy, who had a lot of aggression and used to get flared up quickly, maybe short-tempered.”
However, Aakash Chopra has highlighted that veteran South African player Quinton de Kock is another addition to the trend of players who have or will retire to ODI cricket. Notably, De Kock recently announced that he will retire from the 50-over format after the upcoming 2023 World Cup to be played in India as well.
Chopra stated: “Quinton de Kock has said that this ODI World Cup is his last and that he won’t play in this format after that. Ben Stokes has returned and Quinton de Kock is saying tata bye-bye, although Ben Stokes has also probably come only for the World Cup. Quinton de Kock has said that he will complete his BBL (Big Bash League) obligation and is not going to play ODI cricket. It means when India goes to South Africa, you won’t see Quinton de Kock playing.”
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However, De Kock has amassed 5977 runs which came at an excellent average of 44.60 in 141 ODIs. He was part of South Africa’s XI for the first ODI against Australia on Thursday, September 7, scoring a 31-ball 11 in their three-wicket defeat as well. And. Aakash Chopra expects a lot of cricketers will retire from ODI cricket.
“A lot of people might bid goodbye to ODI cricket because already a proposal has been tabled to bid goodbye to ODI cricket, that you will only play World Cup to World Cup, which means if the next World Cup is in 2027, the teams should start playing bilateral ODIs in 2026, and you don’t play ODI cricket other than that. If that actually happens that everyone is playing T20 cricket and no one plays ODI cricket, then whether you officially say bye-bye or it becomes an unofficial bye-bye in any case, and if you don’t see yourself playing the 2027 World Cup, it’s as good as over. The fact is that players bidding goodbye to ODI cricket is not new and it’s not the last one either,” Chopra concluded.
