India opener Shikhar Dhawan is keen on making a return to Test cricket and is looking at the upcoming opportunities to prove his mettle.
The southpaw last played a Test against England at The Oval in September 2018.
"I am not a part of the Test team but that does not mean I have given up all hopes of a comeback," Dhawan told TV channels during an interaction. "Whenever I got an opportunity... like in the Ranji Trophy last year I scored a century, then I made a comeback into the one-day team, if I get an opportunity then why not, of course."
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In Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul, the Test team has a number of options for the opening slots, making Dhawan's case even more difficult.
However, the 34-year-old remains optimistic.
"I will keep trying my best. The T20 World Cup is there next year, so I need to keep performing, keep myself fit, make runs consistently. If I keep doing these, other things will automatically fall into place."
Having made his Test debut in 2013, Dhawan has played 34 matches, scoring 2,315 runs at an average of 40.61 with seven tons.
He might not be in the scheme of things in the longest format, but the left-hander remains an integral part of India’s ODI and T20I set-up and is currently gearing up for IPL 2020, slated to be held in UAE from September 19.
Dhawan will ply his trade for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the upcoming Indian Premier League and spoke about the challenges being faced by the players while staying in a bio-bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There are challenges of being in the bubble, you do not meet new people, can't go to restaurants, we can only go to the designated areas. But our franchise has looked after us, we are living like a family, it depends on the person how he sees the situation," Shikhar said in a press conference.
When asked about Capitals' chances of winning the IPL, he replied: "It's important we bond together and create that energy. We have a very balanced side and confident we will take the cup."
Asked if he ever feared of not returning to playing cricket owing to the pandemic, Dhawan said, "I have full faith in my body, was never apprehensive about playing. I know I can still get the disease but I can fight it. But we are definitely following the safety guidelines, we have done the COVID test almost 8-9 times.
"We have to keep wearing a specific badge, our movements are restricted. It's a huge thing that the BCCI is able to organise the tournament in this situation."
(With PTI inputs)
