India vs Australia: Shikhar Dhawan To Miss First 3 Games To Remain With Unwell Wife

In-form opener Shikhar Dhawan will not be a part of India’s first three games of the upcoming five-match One-Day International series against Australia after his request of attending his unwell wife was accepted by the BCCI. The southpaw had also left the series in Sri Lanka midway to return to India to attend his ailing mother, missing the final ODI and the one-off T20I.

JUST IN: Shikhar Dhawan released from India squad for first three ODIs against Australia, on request to attend to unwell wife. #INDvsAUS

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 14, 2017

Meanwhile, Dhawan was in red-hot form with the bat before he left the series against Sri Lanka midway. The left-handed batsman made a comeback to the ODI team during the Champions Trophy and hit the ground running by finishing the tournament as the highest run-scorer. He also made an impressive return to the Test team as he was the highest run-scorer in the three-match series against Sri Lanka. After Tests, his impressive performance continued in the ODIs too where he slammed 132 not out and 49 which were followed by two rare failures before he returned to India to attend his mother.

Dhawan’s absence means Ajinkya Rahane will get another chance to make an impression in the 50-over format. An indispensable part of the Test team, the Mumbai star is yet to cement his spot in the ODIs and will be keen to perform well. After warming the bench throughout the Champions Trophy, he opened the innings in all the five games against Windies and had finished the series as the highest-run scorer. However, the return of Rohit Sharma in the team for the Sri Lanka series saw him losing his place in the playing eleven again before Dhawan’s premature departure saw him opening the innings in the last ODI against the Islanders where he managed just 5.

The five-match series against Steve Smith & Co. will start on Sunday (September 17) in Chennai. The ODI series will be followed by a three-match T20I series.