"He could have been treated slightly better" - Aakash Chopra on the turning point in Shikhar Dhawan's Test career
Aakash Chopra believes Shikhar Dhawan might have had a prolonged Test career had the left-handed opener been treated better.
Dhawan last played a Test match for Team India in the 2018 tour of England. He managed 162 runs at an underwhelming average of 20.25 in the four Tests he played. He has been out of favour since then in the longest format of the game.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked about the turning point in Shikhar Dhawan's Test career, to which he responded:
"Test career, in my opinion, was the England tour where, to be very honest, it was not right. He could have been treated slightly better. He was played in the first match, was not played in the second, played the third, and then they dropped him."
The former India opener feels Shikhar Dhawan could have been given a more consistent run. Chopra said:
"It just did not go right. He could have played continuous matches; they were changing repeatedly, and that does not go down well. Personally, that's my issue."
Dhawan was ignored for the Lord's Test of that series after he scored 39 runs in both innings at Edgbaston. KL Rahul, who batted at No.3 in the first Test, opened with Murali Vijay at Lord's, with Cheteshwar Pujara returning to the playing XI.
"Shikhar Dhawan had two weaknesses" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Shikhar Dhawan had multiple technical deficiencies that led to his downfall in overseas conditions. He explained:
"There was a time when there were continuous overseas tours, and the opener's job was very tough on overseas tours. Shikhar had two weaknesses - one was the swinging pitched-up delivery, and he was slightly troubled by the bouncer. You cannot do well in SENA countries with two weaknesses; it is very difficult."
The 44-year-old concluded by saying that Dhawan's return to the Indian Test side is extremely unlikely now. He should concentrate on keeping his place in the 50-over format. Chopra elaborated:
"The story has gone too far from there now. That train has left the station; it is not going to come back now. His name will not come in Test cricket now. In ODI cricket also, he will have to keep holding it very tight because the World Cup is in 2023, and Shikhar Dhawan is not getting any younger by the day."
Dhawan has been selected in the Indian squad for the ODI series against South Africa despite his indifferent returns in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shikhar Dhawan is our ODI - Best Indian Player of the Year 2021 ๐ฅ
๐ 297 runs at 59.4 in 2021
โก Strike Rate: 92.0
๐ Fifties: 3
๐ Highest: 98 vs ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
๐คฉ๐๐
#SKAwards #SportskeedaAwards #shikhardhawan #India https://t.co/kHpxcZ1GTi
With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul likely to be the preferred openers and the impressive Ruturaj Gaikwad waiting in the wings, Dhawan will have to play some substantial knocks against the Proteas to hold on to his spot.