Time for me to Step Back: Indian Opener Not Worried About His Future
Dhawan has been axed from the Indian ODI setup [Twitter]
In what could be a make-or-break situation for his international career, Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan's return to the team is contingent on his performance in the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The seasoned player, who has been a regular in the Indian side, was dropped from the national team earlier this year.
Subsequently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a big decision to replace the veteran opener with younger talents such as Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, who made explosive entries into the cricketing arena with their impressive double centuries. Since then, Dhawan has not made featured for India.
In an interview with Aaj Tak, Dhawan opened up about the sudden axing and appeared to be content with whatever he achieved in his career thus far. He acknowledged that such situations are not uncommon in cricket and have happened to many other players in the past.
"This is not something new in cricket. Or this happened just with me, plenty others have met with same fate. There are times when you play well throughout the year and then your form drops for one month or two, sometimes that becomes bigger than your performance throughout the year. When a captain, coach and selector take a decision they put plenty of thoughts into it," said Dhawan.
The out-of-favour batter also mentioned that when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy, both Rohit and Rahul Dravid backed him up and asked him to focus on his cricket and set his sights on the next World Cup.
"When Rohit took over the captaincy he along with Rahul Dravid backed me enough. They told me they wanted me to focus on my cricket and that my vision should be the next World Cup. 2022 was very good for me,” added the 37-year old.
As Dhawan prepares to lead the Punjab Kings in the IPL, he will look to grab this opportunity to remind the selectors of his abilities and stake a claim for a place in the Indian team for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
With India's top-order misfiring in their recent series against Australia, the veteran batsman's experience and consistency could be crucial for India's chances in the tournament.
 "Jatin")
