In the recently selected Indian squad for the four-match away Test series on the Australian soil, the Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has missed out due to his recent poor forms in the longest format. However, the 32-year-old is determined to return to the Test cricket soon.

Dhawan was running in very poor batting forms during the Test series on the English tour in this August-September, where he scored 162 runs in eight innings with the average of just 20.25, including the best knock of 44.

These dismal performances have resulted to snub his spot from the upcoming Test series on the Australian soil. He also missed the recently concluded two-match home Test series against Windies that India won by 2-0.

While Dhawan is disappointed to miss the Australian tour for the Test series, he is determined to return to the Test squad soon by performing well in the domestic cricket.

He recently told The Quint, “I’m disappointed to miss the Test series in Australia, but it’s fine. I will be playing the T20I and the ODI series. I will try to play well in domestic cricket and try to earn my Test spot back.”

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Though there is a lot of fights for the Test opening slot in the present Indian cricket team, Dhawan’s return to the Test cricket is currently not so tough as the left-handed opening batsman is still in-form in the limited-overs cricket. In this September, Dhawan won the Player of the Tournament award in the 2018 Asia Cup in UAE after finishing as the leading run-scorer. In that tournament, Dhawan scored 342 runs in five innings with an average of 68.40, including two centuries.

However, in the recent five-match home ODI series against Windies, Dhawan failed to play any big knocks, despite getting some good starts. Though he has missed the Test series on the upcoming Australian tour, he has been selected in the T20I series for the same tour.

Meanwhile, the senior batsman has praised the 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who recently made his international cricket debut during the two-match home Test series against Windies and has impressed as an opening batsman by winning the Player of the Series award.

Talking about Shaw, Dhawan said, “He is a great talent and it is a big thing to play for India at the age of 18, and at the same time, doing so well in Test debut. I wish him luck. To play for India at the age of 18 is a very big deal. Not just me, there are so many players who get to play for their nation at 25 or 26 but he made his debut at the age of 18 and also scored a century. It is a very big deal.”