'Very human, normal thing to have' - Shikhar Dhawan opens up on ego clashes in Indian dressing room

Star India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan finds himself out of the ODI team after his dismal form in the year 2022. The star opener has been replaced with youngster Shubman Gill who has grabbed the opportunity with both hands by plundering runs across formats. Being out of the team for some time now, Dhawan recently revealed some of the dressing room secrets.

The 37-year-old did not take names but said that it is a "normal" to have egos among players when they spend a lot of time together. Back in 2019, right after the ODI World Cup, there were reports of a possible rift between star India cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

"It's a very human and normal thing to have egos. We are together for (almost) 220 days. Sometimes there are misunderstandings between people. It's the same with us as well. I am not speaking about Rohit (Sharma) or Virat (Kohli), but a general thing," Dhawan said in an interview with Sports Tak.

Dhawan further said that after things improve after a fight, the love among the players also increases. “We have a 40-member team, which includes support staff and managers. There could be some clashes and times when you are not happy with someone. It happens. And why not? When things improve, the love also increases," he added.

Dhawan was dropped right after the ODI series against Bangladesh in December 2022 where he could only score 18 runs across three innings. The year 2022 was the worst for the opener in ODIs, where he scored 688 runs in 22 innings at an average of 34.40 and at a below-par strike rate of 74.21.

Commenting on his replacement with Shubman Gill, the southpaw said that if he was the selector of the Indian team he would have selected Gill over himself as he has been performing well in Tests and T20s.

“I feel the way Shubman is (playing). Like he was playing two formats and performing well in Tests and T20s. He was playing more matches in the international circuit and I wasn't... If I were the selector then definitely would have given the chance to Shubman. Would have selected Shubman over Shikhar," he said.

Ever since Gill replaced Dhawan in ODIs, he has scored 624 runs in nine innings at an average of 78 with three hundreds and one fifty to his name. He also became the tenth cricketer to score a double hundred in ODI cricket, smashing 208 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in January. He further scored a hundred in T20I against the Kiwis in February 2023 and recorded the highest individual score by an Indian in the format with his unbeaten knock of 126.

Meanwhile, Dhawan will be seen leading the Punjab Kings in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League starting on March 31. Punjab will kick off their campaign against Kolkata knight riders on April 1 at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

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