Former India batsman Aakash Chopra didn't sound optimistic over Shikhar Dhawan's future as an opener in Test match cricket.
Dhawan boasts of a decent record in the format, averaging 40.6 after 34 Tests for 2,315 runs, including seven hundreds. However, struggles on the 2018-19 overseas cycle, especially on the tour of England, meant that the selectors decided to look past him.
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Dhawan, 34, hasn't played in Tests since then, with his comeback only made more difficult with the emergence of Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, the elevation of Rohit Sharma. Further, there is KL Rahul, who was dropped last year, in the queue, where domestic performers like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal and the prodigiously talented Shubman Gill are also waiting.
"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," said Chopra in a video posted on his Youtube channel.
"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."
Thinking from the selectors' perspective, Chopra feels Dhawan's Test stint could be over and he may just be thought of as a limited-overs specialist for the rest of his career.
"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 concluded.
