Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri reckons Shikhar Dhawan does not get the credit he deserves.
Speaking to Star Sports ‘Selection Day Special Show’, former India coach Shastri shared his thoughts on the positioning of young talent Ishan Kishan, as well as the impact of seasoned player Shikhar Dhawan on the squad.
Reflecting on the team's past experiences, particularly the 2019 World Cup campaign, Shastri emphasised the pivotal role left-handed batsmen play in the team's composition.
Shastri spoke about where Ishan Kishan will feature in the batting line-up for the Asia Cup 2023 and the impact Shikhar Dhawan had on the squad and how the team missed in the 2019 World Cup campaign, he said
"At the top of the order, nowhere else. And the others have to be flexible. Between Rohit, Virat, and Shubhman Gill, that can be two, three, four."
"And a very important point is, I was a coach at that time, and I keep saying that people do not give the credit that Shikhar Dhawan deserves. I mean, that guy was an amazing player. You mention the World Cup in 2019 where we lost that semi-final, when we had a brilliant World Cup, he was the missing man there. You know, that made such a big difference – a left-hander at the top of the order, as opposed to three right-handers with the ball swinging away, which allowed teams to get a grip of where to bowl and bowl consistently," he added.
Shastri also highlighted the importance of having 2 quality left-handers in the top 7 of the Indian batting line-up for the upcoming tournaments.
"There are two positions in the top seven where I feel two left-handers have to come in. This is where a selector's role comes in because they are watching, they know who is the guy who is hot. If Tilak Varma is hot, bring him in. If Jaiswal is hot, bring him in. But bring two in at the top, so if you are persistent with Ishan Kishan for the last 6-8 months and he’s going to keep wickets, then he comes in, in any case. But getting two left-handers in that top seven, including Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), there should be three in that top seven."
Dhawan's brilliant performances in ICC 50-over tournaments has earned him the 'Mr ICC' tag. He has played 10 ICC Cricket World Cup matches, scoring 537 runs in 10 innings at an average of 53.70, with three centuries and a fifty, with the best score of 137. With 412 runs in eight matches in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, his first one, he was India's top-scorer and overall fifth. His 2019 WC was cut short by an injury. However, he scored a brilliant century against Australia in his final World Cup game.
In the 10 ICC Champions Trophy matches, Dhawan has scored 701 runs at an average of 77.88, with three centuries and three fifties and the best score of 125. He scored 363 runs in the 2013 CT in five matches with two hundreds and a fifty. He ended up as the top run-getter and Player of the Tournament. He topped the run-scoring charts in the next tournament as well with 338 runs in five matches with one century and two fifties.
Asia Cup will start on August 30 and will be hosted jointly by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with the majority of matches in the island nation. ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted by India from October 5.
