"People Don't Give Credit To...": Ex Indian Cricket Team Coach Ravi Shastri Names The Ignored Star
The Indian cricket team enters a decisive stage of the season where one or two losses could define if this year was a successful one for them or not
The Indian cricket team enters a decisive stage of the season where one or two losses could define if this year was a successful one for them or not. With the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup not too far from its commencement, there remain plenty of questions to be answered with regards to the Indian squad. One of India's most consistent players in ICC events, Shikhar Dhawan, is no longer being considered in any of the three formats. For former India head coach, it's a sad thing that Dhawan doesn't even get the credit he deserves.
"At the top of the order, nowhere else. And the others have to be flexible. Between Rohit, Virat, and Shubhman Gill, that can be 2, 3, 4. And a very important point is, I was coach at that time, and I keep saying that people don't 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 semifinal, 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," Shastri said in a chat on Star Sports.
The former India all-rounder and head coach, Shastri, wants the Indian team to have three left-handers in the batting unit. At present, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma look like the top candidates from pure batters' perspective while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are certainly in contention from the all-rounders' point of view.
"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, there should be three in that top seven."
India Cricket Team
Shikhar Dhawan