Is Shikhar Dhawan game over? Due to one weakness, the leaf can be cut from Team India

New Delhi. Team India, adorned with young players, had defeated New Zealand in the T20 series. But, the Indian team failed to repeat this performance in ODIs. Especially the team captain and opener Shikhar Dhawan disappointed. He batted in all three ODIs. But, only 103 runs came out of his bat. Dhawan definitely played an inning of 72 runs in the first ODI. But, he failed to score big in the next two matches. Earlier, Dhawan could not shine the bat even in the ODI series against South Africa before the T20 World Cup. He scored only 25 runs in three matches of that series.

Less than a year is left in the ODI World Cup. In such a situation, not getting runs from Dhawan’s bat is a matter of trouble. But, the bigger problem than that is the strike rate, which has raised alarm bells for Dhawan.

It is not that Dhawan is struggling to score runs. Because in 2022, he has scored the most runs for India in ODIs. Dhawan has scored 670 runs in 19 innings of ODIs at an average of 39.41 so far this year. 6 half-centuries have also come out of his bat. But, his strike rate is troublesome. He has scored 670 runs this year at a strike rate of 75. Looking at the way ODI cricket is being played, this strike rate is going to increase the problem in the top order.

Dhawan scored 103 against New Zealand
In the third ODI against New Zealand, Dhawan initially scored at a strike rate of over 90. After the first 4 overs, Dhawan was playing 15 runs in 16 balls while his opening partner Shubman Gill’s account was not opened even after playing 8 balls. But, this fast start of Dhawan did not last long. He scored only 10 runs in his next 20 balls and his strike rate in powerplay was 70 and in the end he was dismissed after scoring 28 runs in 45 balls. His strike rate was 62 in this innings.

Dhawan’s most runs in ODIs this year
With the ODI series against Bangladesh, India will start formal preparations for the ODI World Cup to be held at its home next year. Shikhar Dhawan is the first choice opener for captain Rohit Sharma. Dhawan has played the most 34 ODIs for India since the 2019 ODI World Cup and except this year, his performance in ODIs has been shining. But, in 2022, the speed of his runs has reduced completely. The strike rate at which he is scoring runs does not fit in today’s ODI cricket.

Dhawan is scoring runs at a strike rate of 75 in 2022
Dhawan’s strike rate in ODIs was above 100 in 2016, 2017 and 2018. But, in the next three years it remained around 90, which would be considered good. But, in the 19 innings he has played so far in 2022, his strike rate has dropped to 75. This is the lowest strike rate (at least 500 runs) of any Indian batsman in a calendar year since 2008. In 2008, Rohit scored runs in 28 innings of ODIs at a strike rate of 72.57. The names of Ganguly (71.93 strike rate) in 2007, Gautam Gambhir (74.67) in 2008 were also included in this list. Now Dhawan also joined it.

The concern about them has also increased because of this. Because ODI cricket has changed completely in 14 years. Now ODI is also played in the style of T20. Where the batsmen try to dominate the opposition team from the first ball itself.

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Gill can spoil Dhawan’s game
Compared to Dhawan, in 2022, Rohit Sharma has scored only 171 runs in 6 innings of ODIs. But, his strike rate was 107. At the same time, Shubman Gill has also scored 638 runs this year at a strike rate of 102.57. He is the highest run-scorer for India in ODIs in 2022 after Dhawan. Not only this, the strike rate of Shreyas Iyer, who bats at number three, has also been 98. ODI World Cup is to be held next year and Gill is also staking his claim for the opening slot.

He is at the forefront of the backup opener race. In such a situation, if Dhawan does not solve his problem further, then Gill can get a chance. Apart from them, players like Ishaan Kishan are also in the queue. If Kishan also redeems the opportunities he got in ODIs, then the path of 36-year-old Dhawan will be difficult.

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Tags: india vs new zealand, ODI World Cup, Rohit sharma, shikhar dhawan, Shubman Gill, team india