Is it the end of the road for Shikhar Dhawan in Tests?

The Test team announced for the series against Windies in October didn't feature few regular names in the squad. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were being rested to manage their workload while Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were out due to injury. BCCI took a huge step in axing the openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Vijay however, is doing great for Essex and is likely to return for the next series against Australia. But, for Shikhar Dhawan, it looks like the end of the road for him in Test cricket.

Dhawan started his Test career with a bang against Australia at Mohali by smashing fastest century ever by a debutant. His records have been brilliant in Asia averaging more than 61 with 6 centuries, however, he has a disappointing record outside Asia averaging just around 26 with only 1 century to his name.

He has been vulnerable against the new ball in Test cricket and has failed to build a solid foundation in the beginning which proves to be vital. It was seen in South Africa and also later in England where he struggled against the new ball. He scored a century against the debutant Afghanistan in India, but it was not the century that he can cherish. His poor run in Test matches outside Asia has been a concern for the team.

In white ball cricket, he has been exceptional since his stint in the 2013 Champions Trophy. He has been India's leading run scorer in all the major tournaments such as the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and 2017, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and Asia Cup 2018. He has been a beast in white ball cricket and is an important part of the Indian top-order.

BCCI is now believed to have taken the decision regarding Dhawan's Test career and is only considering him for the white ball cricket. With World Cup 2019 approaching in few months, BCCI doesn't want to take any risk with the form of Dhawan and might as well ask him to focus on his white-ball game.