Shikhar Dhawan has expressed his disappointment after being left out of the Indian squad for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. Dhawan had a below-average limited overs series against Bangladesh which led to his exclusion from the squad that will face Sri Lanka in January 2023. He took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the matter. He tweeted “Sab Rab ki Marzi Hai” which roughly translates to “Everything is God’s Will”. He later deleted his tweet.
Dhawan was not in his usual fluent form in the recently concluded ODI series against Bangladesh. He has been struggling for form for the last year and a half and the same reflects on his string of low scores. In 2022 alone, he represented India in 22 ODIs in which he 688 runs at a strike rate of 74.21. India will host the 2023 50-over world cup and Dhawan’s exclusion is a clear indication that the team wants to invest in raw talents. Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have been included in the squad and will be tried and tested before settling on a new opening combination.
The Indian selectors have also relieved KL Rahul of vice-captaincy of the Indian ODI team. He is in the squad as a wicketkeeper batter but his vice-captaincy has been handed over to Hardik Pandya, who will lead the T20 team against Sri Lanka. In the T20 squad, Suryakumar Yadav has been handed the role of vice-captain. The BCCI has also rested some senior players from the T20 squad which clearly indicates that they are going to prefer young blood in the format.
