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During the weekend, India youngster Ishan Kishan broke a flurry of world records with his whirlwind knock of 210 off 131 deliveries against Bangladesh in Chattogram. Not only the 24-year-old hit the fastest double ton in One-Day Internationals as he went past Chris Gayle's previous record but also became the youngest to achieve the feat. With former players, pundits and fans all lauding his efforts, intent, and approach in the middle, questions have been raised about the future of the veteran opener, Shikhar Dhawan. Shikhar Dhawan has struggled with his form of late and failed to impress upon anyone during his three knocks in Bangladesh. In the last seven ODI games, Shikhar Dhawan has managed to score only a solitary fifty and couldn't touch double digits in Bangladesh, losing his wicket to 7, 8, and 3 respectively in the three ODI matches there. With no performances to show with the bat, Shikhar Dhawan is finding it hard to retain his place in the side. Even seasoned India batter Dinesh Karthik who was part of India's recent T20 World Cup campaign believes that Shikhar Dhawan may have played his last game for India as it would be extremely difficult to ignore Ishan Kishan after his record-breaking double century in Bangladesh.
“For Sri Lanka series, where does Dhawan stand? It is going to be interesting to see how they are going to leave out Ishan Kishan. Shubman Gill has been doing so well. If Rohit Sharma is available, somebody has to miss out. It could well be him (Dhawan). That could be a sad end to a glorious career. But some questions to answer for the new selectors,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.
“Interestingly, if Shubman Gill had been part of the squad, he would have probably opened because he has been doing it for some time with aplomb. Ishan Kishan, given an opportunity, has taken it with both hands. This is going to put Shikhar Dhawan in a fix,” Dinesh Karthik added.
“It’s very nice to see someone coming out and being honest with the fact that, ‘you know what, I could have got a 300 if I had batted, but it didn’t happen’. Also shows his hunger. He has been walking that thin line with a few of the keepers being part of it and hence not getting that opportunity. Now, he has pushed that door and said, ‘I am ready. Are you going to look at me?'”
On Saturday, Ishan Kishan ended the debate about who should be India's preferred opener in next year's ODI World Cup at home after he smacked a stroke-filled double ton against Bangladesh, becoming just the fourth Indian to achieve the feat in the 50-over format. Before him, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Rohit Sharma reached the milestone.
In the process, Ishan Kishan broke Rohit Sharma's long-standing record to become the youngest double-centurion in ODIs. While Ishan Kishan made his maiden double hundred at the age of 24 years and 145 days, Rohit Sharma did it when he was 26 years and 186 days old against the mighty Australians in Bengaluru in 2013.
Among other records, Ishan Kishan now holds the record for the highest score by a visiting batter in Bangladesh, overtaking former Australian cricketer Shane Watson who smashed an unbeaten 185 in the South Asian nation in 2011.
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Ishan Kishan also pipped former BCCI president and India captain, Sourav Ganguly, to become the side's top scorer in an away match as an opener. Sourav Ganguly had smacked 183 against Sri Lanka during the 1999 World Cup in England.
Even former India selector Saba Karim thinks that Shikhar Dhawan's place in the side is no longer safe.
“It will depend on the team management, that what sort of cricket they are wanting to play. If the team management still believes that 275-300 is their aim, then you need Shikhar Dhawan because he is still that kind of a player,” Saba Karim said on Sony Sports.
“It is a different thing that he has not scored runs in this series. But if you give him an opportunity again and tell him that we have to score 275-300 only, Shikhar Dhawan's place will be there till the World Cup. But if we have decided that our par score will be 325-350, there is no place for Dhawan,” Saba Karim noted.
“So a lot will depend on the selectors and the team management, the captain, that what expectation you have. If you expect that Shikhar Dhawan will play a big knock at a strike rate of 130-140 in a 350-run game, it is not going to happen,” he explained.
“I feel in the coming times, we have to achieve a lot. I feel we are two to three years behind in white-ball cricket and to get there we will need new players, players like Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Prithvi Shaw,” Saba Karim concluded.
