'India's underrated ODI hero' - Twitter disappointed with Shikhar Dhawan being dropped from team for Sri Lanka ODIs

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul are all available for the ODI series starting from January 10 in Guwahati.

By Sumeet Kavthale

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Shikhar Dhawan India
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Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the upcoming T20I and ODI home series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (December 27). Hardik Pandya will be leading the T20I team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma but the latter is included in the ODI squad after missing out on third ODI against Bangladesh with a thumb injury.

As expected, there are few changes to the team after an embarrassing 2-1 ODI series defeat against Bangladesh earlier this month. The veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the squad after his poor performances in Bangladesh. Dhawan managed to score only 18 runs from three innings at a poor strike rate of 51.42 

Dhawan, 37, has been a crucial part of India's ODI squad with consistently impressive performances. He also led India in the last four of five ODI series in the absence of Rohit and KL Rahul but his recent performances raised questions on India's preparations for the World Cup 2023.

Gill's form paved the way for Dhawan's axing

Dhawan opened the innings in all three games against Bangladesh with Rahul playing in the middle order. With Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill pushing for regular starts, it was always going to be a tough call from the management on Dhawan's role in the upcoming ODI series.

With the southpaw missing the ODIs against Sri Lanka, Indian management is likely to hand the opportunity to Gill or Kishan to open alongside Rohit. Hardik is also included in the squad after being given rest for the Bangladesh tour. The star all-rounder is also handed the vice-captaincy role ahead of Rahul, in another big decision from the management.

India's squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohamed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Shikhar Dhawan's absence from the ODI squad:

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