Ravichandran Ashwin on Shikhar Dhawan-Ishan Kishan debate: “Instead of backing a player on basis of one huge score, see what the team requires”

Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opined that a player should not be backed on the basis of just one big score. Instead, the think tank must look at the larger picture and characters who can deliver under pressure.

Ashwin was referring to the debate that Ishan Kishan should be preferred as opener over veteran Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs after Kishan clobbered the fastest men’s double hundred against Bangladesh in December.

Opening the innings with Dhawan in the third ODI in Chattogram after Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to injury, Kishan smashed 210 off 131 balls. In contrast, Dhawan was dismissed for 3 in the same game. The 37-year-old had a poor series in Bangladesh, failing to reach double figures in any of the three one-dayers and was subsequently dropped from the team.

Sharing his views on the Kishan-Dhawan situation, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel:

“Team India has always has solid openers and a solid No. 3, who would do the bulk of the scoring in ODIs. Only when the Top 3 failed, we had problems in the past. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli. We talk a lot about Rohit and Kohli, but Dhawan is a stalwart. He was silently doing his job. Will his place be a big void to fill for Team India?"

He continued:

“Should we go back to Shikhar Dhawan, or should we groom Ishan Kishan, who has just scored a double hundred? Instead of backing a player on the basis of one huge score, we should see what the team requires. Which character will deliver under pressure? Which character will serve us for a long time?”

Dhawan has played 167 ODIs for India, scoring 6793 runs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35, with 17 hundreds and 39 fifties.

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“He has scored hefty runs and has been the most consistent batter” - Ashwin on Shubman Gill

Another massive debate arose when Shubman Gill was picked over Kishan as Rohit’s opening partner for the Sri Lanka ODIs. Kishan was dropped despite scoring a double hundred in his previous one-day appearance. Backing the management’s decision, Ashwin explained:

“Ishan Kishan was dropped after a double hundred, but Team India has seen Shubman Gill’s run in the past. He has scored hefty runs and has been the most consistent batter for the team over a period of time. He also plays the slog sweep and the traditional sweep, can cut and pull pacers. Smart batting, quality batting and acceleration towards the end. He accelerated beautifully in the last four overs and hit that 200 in the Hyderabad ODI.”

Gill has continued his tremendous form in one-dayers, registering scores of 70, 21, 116, 208, 40* and 112 in his last six ODI innings.