BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Shikhar Dhawan's potential India comeback after Asia Cup snub

On Monday (August 21), India's 17-member squad for the Asia Cup wasannounced. While it saw the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, some big names were also missing, such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik andShikhar Dhawan. While not many would have considered Dhawan's name for the Asia Cup, with the left-hander not being in India's scheme of things since 2023, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar opined on his future.

"Rohit is not a bad player, Shubman has had a phenomenal year. Ishan Kishan (is another one). Shikhar has been a terrific player for India. At the moment three guys are doing well and you can fit only 15. Unfortunately, someone has to fit. At the moment these are our preferred openers," Agarkar said while talking to the reporters after the Asia Cup squad announcement.

Shikhar Dhawan has been one of India's most prolific batters in the modern era. Dhawan formed a lethal opening pair with current captain Rohit over the years and remained India's consistent performer in ICC events (during the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and 2015 ODI World Cup) but his stocks declined since 2021. And Shubman Gill's emergence, along with Ishan Kishan's attack-mode of play, led to his ouster in recent times. While he led India's second-stringed line-up in away tours (in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, etc.) and led in a few series at home as well, the 37-year-old has now fallen way behind in the pecking order.

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Dhawan has played 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is. The white-ball legendhas amassed6,793 and1,759 runs in ODIs and T20Is, respectively with 17tons and 50 fiftiesin the shorter formats overall. He also has 2,315 runs in 34 Tests, with a best of 190.

Talking about Rohit-led India's Asia Cup campaign, they begin their run on September 2 versus arch-rivals Pakistan in Pallekele. The tournament kicks off in Multan, Pakistan on August 30. The upcoming edition will be jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

India squad for Asia Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Prasidh Krishna

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