'I honestly don't know': Shikhar Dhawan on reason behind his absence from India's T20I squad

Team India's star batter Shikhar Dhawan has opened up on his absence from the T20I squad despite his consistent performances with the bat. Dhawan has not been part of India's T20I squad for quite a while now and played his last T20I for the Men in Blue against Sri Lanka in July last year and has since not been part of the squad.

Dhawan has been one of the most consistent performers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was the fourth-highest run-getter in IPL 2021 with 587 runs and followed it up with another impressive campaign for his new team Punjab Kings this year. He notched up 460 runs in IPL 2022 and was among the top performers with the willow.

However, despite his consistent run in the IPL, Dhawan has failed to impress the selectors, who seem to have closed the door on the veteran batter as far as T20Is are concerned. Dhawan was recently asked about his non-selection in India's T20I squad and said he had no idea why he is not selected.

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“I honestly don’t know about it, maybe it could be the reason. I don’t want to go deep about it I have not played T20 for India for a long time now, I don’t know where I see myself. I look to make the most out of every opportunity I am getting. Be it IPL, domestic cricket, or ODI, I just want to do well, and that is the only thing under my control,” Dhawan told the Indian Express.

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While he is no more part of India's T20I plans, Dhawan has also been not in the scheme of things of India in Tests. The prolific left-hander played his last Test match in September 2018 and has not managed to make a comeback amid the rise of youngsters like Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul among others.

Dhawan currently only plays ODI cricket for India and is focused on enjoying what he has on his plate rather than focusing on the formats which he has been discarded from.“I really enjoy playing ODI cricket. It’s an art and still has charm. I love playing it. Like Test and T20 have their values, ODI cricket is also exciting. I really like it,” said the India batter.

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Dhawan will lead the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma and other senior players on their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. India are scheduled to play three ODIs against the hosts before the Asia Cup 2022 later this month. Dhawan is not part of India's Asia Cup squad and is unlikely to be selected for the T20 World Cup 2022 later this year.