Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has raised doubts about Shikhar Dhawan’s chances of making it to the 2023 ODI World Cup squad, indicating that the team has turned its back on the seasoned opener. With Shubman Gill’s successful partnership with Rohit Sharma as the opening pair, Dhawan has been out of the Indian team for several months, playing his last match in December.

In a video on his YouTube channel discussing India’s World Cup squad, Aakash Chopra emphasized the importance of a left-right combination at the top of the batting order. He questioned whether Dhawan’s name could be considered for this role, but expressed skepticism about the possibility due to recent selection decisions.

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“Shikhi boy’s name should have been on this list, but it seems like it won’t be there because his name is not there for the West Indies tour as well and you didn’t put his name for the Asian Games too. So it seems like the team has turned their back on him,” Aakash Chopra stated.

Recalling Dhawan’s impressive century against Australia in the 2019 World Cup while batting with a fracture, Chopra acknowledged that Dhawan has no competition in ODI cricket. However, he noted that the selectors and team management seem to have moved on from him and are not considering him for the upcoming World Cup.

“It is like you are doing very well but suddenly someone comes and because he is a three-format player and is doing well in multiple places, he goes ahead of you. You say – ‘I never lost in the race but what happened actually? Some other player won some other race, so why are you dropping me?'” Aakash Chopra explained.

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While Dhawan’s future in the ODI squad remains uncertain, it appears that the team is currently favoring the Gill-Rohit opening partnership, leaving Dhawan’s chances of making it to the 2023 World Cup squad in doubt.