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'Let's Paint The World Blue' - Dhawan's Best Wishes For India Before 2023 World Cup

image-lncvqx1wRohit Sharma will lead IND in 2023 WC [AP]

Shikhar Dhawan may not be present in person within the ranks, but his heartfelt wishes remain with the Indian team as they head into the 2023 World Cup on home shores. 

The experienced southpaw sent his best regards and wishes to the Rohit Sharma-led outfit, urging the aspirational group to "paint the world blue" with their performance and lift the ultimate crown. 

Dhawan, who has been out of the Indian team from all formats since his last outing in December 2022 against Bangladesh, wished for his friends' great show and the best of fortunes on the global stage. Taking to Twitter, the veteran left-handed opener urged the players to "bring that trophy home".


Bring that trophy home! - Shikhar Dhawan's message to Indian team

The cricketer posted an image of the Indian team standing together for the pre-match national anthem ritual ahead of a recent fixture played in Barbados during the ODI series in the West Indies. 

While modern-day legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opted out of playing duties from most of the series in August, with only Rohit batting once for a brief passage, the two stalwarts featured in the image, divided by stand-in skipper and allrounder Hardik Pandya. 

It was a heartening gesture from Dhawan, who admirably holds no grudge about his continuous absence from the international scene and is willing to selflessly wish the best for players part of India's selected World Cup squad. 

Previously also, Dhawan had shown no signs of anger and frustration about his axing from the Indian team. Dropped from the Test side in 2018 and left out of the T20I set-up in early 2021, One-Day Internationals is the only format Dhawan was actively playing before his ouster. 

The 37-year-old had publicly expressed his wish to finish with his international career on a high at the 2023 World Cup. However, a sustained dip in form and flow at the crease with multiple promising youngsters vying for his spot became too difficult for the selectors to ignore. 

From 2021, Dhawan averaged 39.40 with a poor strike-rate of 78.80 over 28 innings with no centuries and was replaced by prodigiously talented and in-form Shubman Gill.