The young Indian batter Ishan Kishan has increased the threat for other openers in the ODI squad when played a brilliant knock of 210 runs against Bangladesh in the third ODI in Chattogram recently. The flamboyant southpaw played a blistering knock to power India to a massive win against Bangladesh in the final ODI of the series.
Former India cricketer Saba Karim has opined that the men in blue will not require the services of Shikhar Dhawan if India plans to score 325-350 runs on a regular basis in ODIs going ahead. Furthermore, with players like Shubman Gill and Kishan fighting for the top-order spot, Dhawan’s chances to keep his place in the team look slim considering his current form.
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During a chat with News18, Saba Karim said, “It will depend on the team management, what sort of cricket they are wanting to play. If the team management still believes that 275-300 is their aim, then you need Shikhar Dhawan because he is still that kind of a player. It is a different thing that he has not scored runs in this series.”
He further added, “But if you give him an opportunity again and tell him that we have to score 275-300 only, Shikhar Dhawan’s place will be there till the World Cup. But if we have decided that our par score will be 325-350, there is no place for Dhawan.”
Saba Karim made a bold statement, stating that the Indian team is a couple of years behind in terms of limited-overs cricket. He also added that the management will need to bring the likes of fresh faces in order to compete for titles.
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Elaborating on the same, Saba Karim said, “A lot will depend on the selectors and the team management, the captain, and what expectations you have. I feel in the coming times, we have to achieve a lot. I feel we are two to three years behind in white-ball cricket and to get there we will need new players, players like Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Prithvi Shaw.”
