He May Not Get A Chance To Play Tests In Near Future, Says Aakash Chopra On Indian Opener

Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes Shikhar Dhawan is unlikely to get a chance in the Test team in near future. The southpaw is one of India’s most decorated openers but his Test career indeed looks as good as over.

An integral part of India’s limited-overs team, Dhawan has done well in Tests too. He has played 34 Tests in which he has scored 7 centuries and scored a total of 2,315 runs at an average of 40.61. But after a string of poor performances in 2018, Dhawan has been left out of the Test squad.

His last appearance in Tests came during the tour of England in 2018. Since then, India have tried a number of opening combination. At present, Dhawan is well below in the pecking order behind the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma.

And as chances of his return to the Test side is looking bleak, Aakash Chopra believes he is unlikely to play any Test in near future. The former cricketer did not rule out the possibility of a comeback for Dhawan but believes it won’t happen quickly.

“Never say never, he might get a chance. But will he get a chance quickly? I don’t think it can happen right now because there are already several options as openers for Test cricket,” Aakash Chopra said in a video on his Youtube page.

“Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul. There are already four options ahead of Dhawan who is in the 5th position. It means that the position of strength which Dhawan had is not there anymore, and that privilege is not there anymore. So Shikhar Dhawan may happen sometime in the future, but not in the near future because the team has started looking ahead.

“I think it has not been spoken but they have taken call on his Test career that he is a superb white-ball player, so he should focus on ODIs and T20Is. But in Test cricket, we are investing in other people. Be it Rohit Sharma, or KL Rahul – who should definitely be getting a chance to open in Test cricket very soon. There is Mayank Agarwal who has done well, and of course, Prithvi Shaw. So, I don’t think Shikhar Dhawan is going to get a chance in near future,” he added.

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