‘Bhai World Cup team mai hai’- Fans react as Shikhar Dhawan does not get selected for upcoming Asian Games

The Indian Cricket Board has revealed the roster for the 19th Asian Games, which will be held from September 28th to October 8th. The Men in Blue will be headed by Ruturaj Gaikwad, which effectively means Shikhar Dhawan’s tenure with the Indian Cricket Team is up. Despite possessing a Grade C Indian Cricket Board contract, the experienced opener was snubbed by the country’s governing body.

Dhawan had previously led India’s second-string side on international tours, but his continued omission this year appears to be the end of the road for the seasoned player. The Indian Cricket side will compete at the Asian Games, where the event will be played in its shortest version, T20s, with a very inexperienced side led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, the absence of Shikhar Dhawan creates several concerns.

Shikhar Dhawan’s 2022-23 season

Dhawan last played an ODI against Bangladesh in December of last year. Following a streak of poor scores, the left-handed batter was removed from the 50-over format. In the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, he scored 7, 8, and 3. Previously, the Delhi batter had delivered numbers of 72, 3, and 28 against New Zealand away from home.

He scored 4, 13, and 8 runs against South Africa at home. As a result, Dhawan was left out of the one-day international teams against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Australia earlier this year. On the other hand, he had a good run as the captain of the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League 2023. The 37-year-old scored 373 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 142.91, including three half-centuries, the highest was 99.

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 will be held at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field from September 19 to October 8, 2023. The men’s cricket competition will be played in a T20 style from September 28th to October 8th.

India’s squad for the 19th Asian Games

Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk)

Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan

Here’s how fans reacted

https://twitter.com/Guri_Pbks/status/1679920471654137856?s=20

https://twitter.com/Joe_VocalI/status/1679920166501765126?s=20

So we have already seen him in Indian colors for last time 🥺💔

— Dhaval Patel (@CricCrazy0) July 14, 2023

Don't worry. With how fickle the BCCI is , Dhawan will be in the WC Squad as a backup opener.

— Durga Prasad (@durga3140) July 14, 2023

This is harsh on shikhar paaji.. A senior should have been there in the team and made the captain for better guidance in asian games

— Anurag Sinha (@anuragsinha1992) July 14, 2023

It means he will be in world cup considerations bro

— PAVAN KANTAMNENI (@pavankantamneni) July 14, 2023

hope he gets the chance in the World Cup

— KAPIL DEV TAMRAKAR 🇮🇳🚀𝕏🌖 (@kapildevtamkr) July 14, 2023

I think wc and Asian games schedule is clashing,so that's why he is not included as he will be kept as a backup for wc.

— Jaise ko taisa 🤷 (@candidtruth12) July 14, 2023