‘Will falter a couple of times before learning’ – Shikhar Dhawan drops staggering take in debate over Indian star’s inclusion in ODI World Cup squad

Several questions are being asked about India’s batting order and the potential lineup in light of the outcomes of the recently finished ODI series against Australia at home. The focus of that conversation has been Suryakumar Yadav, who dropped the chance to capitalise on it and returned with a forgettable string of three consecutive dismissals for golden ducks. Veterans and professionals have made suggestions that the Indian team management should reconsider the No. 4 position for the ODI World Cup. And amid the conversation, Shikhar Dhawan said something startling.

Despite his success in T20Is, where he is the No. 1 ranked batter, Suryakumar was never a part of India’s first-choice selection. However, Shreyas Iyer, who had previously been India’s No. 4 in ODIs, suffered a back ailment that prevented him from playing in the series, allowing Suryakumar to stake out a spot in the World Cup.

‘It’s not easy for batters, no matter how big’ – Shikhar Dhawan

Sadly for the India star, he returned with three golden ducks, two of which came in the first two games off unplayable deliveries from Mitchell Starc and the third against Ashton Agar. Famous cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar criticised him harshly, and Zaheer Khan suggested that he be dropped from the World Cup plan. Still, senior Indian squad batter Shikhar Dhawan has defended Suryakumar.

Dhawan stated in an interview with Aaj Tak that Suryakumar has been reliable in white-ball cricket and that setbacks like those scores are inevitable in a career. He encouraged the batter to make a big comeback as well.

“Suryakumar Yadav has performed really well. He has consistently performed in the last couple of years. (He hasn’t done well) in a couple of series, which is very natural. If we talk about the Test match, the wickets are very different in a Test; that is the biggest challenge. When we played in India, there were turning tracks prepared because India had to win games. Things are not easy for batters, no matter how big he is, and that is where experience come to use. So in the case of a youngster, they will falter a couple of times before learning,” he said.