Shikhar Dhawan axe explained: Why was ‘Gabbar’ unfairly dropped from India’s ODI squad despite a prolific 2022

Almost 10 years after making his explosive Test debut and setting the Champions Trophy 2023 ablaze, it could finally be the end of the road for Shikhar Dhawan.

One of India’s top two openers of the last decade, Dhawan, 37, was dropped for the ODI series against Sri Lanka starting January 10 – a decision that was met with a certain element of shock, given how the left-handed batter had burned up the charts in 2022. Having already been sidelined from the Test set-up in 2018 and then T20Is last year, it seems as if the BCCI has pulled the plug on Dhawan’s final lifeline months before the 2023 World Cup.

Dhawan’s omission comes across as another classic example of the team management’s muddled selection, which cost them the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup last year. At a time where playing multiple teams has given out India caps to almost every fringe player, Dhawan, one of the certainties to play the World Cup in India next, being let go was imminent. But the call simply doesn’t make sense and defies logic when the guy, with 688 runs from 22 ODIs, emerged as the second-highest run-getter for India in ODIs this year, next only to Shreyas Iyer. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul do not even come close. Neither does Suryakumar Yadav.

2022 was a year where when the star seniors were busy playing the bigger tournaments, Dhawan captained the young brigade and mostly led from the front. A cursory glance across his impactful innings will provide a bigger picture as to why Dhawan was once again dealt a rough hand. In a three-ODI series in January, Dhawan had two half-centuries – 79 in Paarl and 61 in Cape Town even though India were whitewashed 0-3. The tour of England was bit of a letdown but Dhawan roared back with scores of 97 and 58 against West Indies – where the possibility of an unexpected defeat loomed large – followed by a solid knock of 81 not out against Zimbabwe. Dhawan later teed off against New Zealand with an attractive half-century in the testing conditions of Auckland.

But apparently, the entire year’s hard work was undone when he failed against Bangladesh – producing three single-digit scores. That Ishan Kishan hammered a blazing double-century, did not exactly help his case either… and just like that, Dhawan was brushed aside in one final roll of the dice by the outgoing selection committee. The ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series features eight changes from the group that toured New Zealand, and not one reason behind the omissions was provided. Usually, cricket boards around the world offer a clear picture –quotes, injury and rest are explained with clarity – but the BCCI dropped the bomb at 10:15 in the night with absolutely no idea behind who was dropped or rested. Until the smokes clear, Dhawan’s status might be a limbo but all signs point towards his ouster from the Indian team.

This is not the first time that Dhawan has been plain unlucky. The IPL, as we know, has become the yardstick for selection – that is how talents such as Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh got their big India break and Suryakumar Yadav’s wait to finally become an India cricketer ended. Hence, going by that logic, for someone who had piled 618 and 587 runs in IPL 2020 and 2021 respectively, Dhawan should have been an automatic shoe-in for Team India, especially with the team management fretting over Rohit Sharma’s partner at the top. But no, between January of 2020 and July of 2021, Dhawan played 10 T20Is, and despite scoring two half-centuries and scores of 46 and 40 on sluggish Sri Lankan pitches, Dhawan was not deemed worthy of an India T20I comeback.

Heck, even back in 2018, when Dhawan last played a Test – he was sidelined after one poor series against England, where barring Virat Kohli, every batter struggled. Between July 2017 and September 2018, Dhawan has scored 190 and 119 against Sri Lanka and 107 against Afghanistan, but one series, where his scores were 26, 13, 35, 44, 23 and 17, the management just abruptly ended Dhawan’s Test career.

We get it. It’s time for the next transition phase in Indian cricket. But if on the basis of stature alone, KL Rahul can be given a god-like long rope, Dhawan’s snub is astonishing. He has been your man for ICC tournaments, a beast. Having finished as the Player of the Tournament at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, where the world saw the birth of the Dhawan-Rohit partnership, Dhawan, in 10 matches in ODI World Cups, has belted 537 runs at an average of 53.70. In the 2019 World Cup, Dhawan was unfortunately ruled out due to a broken thumb, but it wasn’t before he has sizzled with a stunning century against Australia at The Oval.

Dhawan had made his peace with the fact that his India Test and T20I careers might be over, which is probably why you heard him say time and again in the past year that his focus is the 2023 World Cup. To possibly take that dream away from one of Indian cricket’s most consistent batters is nothing less than a blow to the gut. With Dhawan, fitness was not an issue – given the shape he is in, he hardly looks his age – and considering his record in in India – 1890 runs at an average of 41.90 with five centuries and 12 fifties – Dhawan’s ODI omission is something people will fail to wrap their heads around for a long time.