What's the story?
According to the reports in The Mumbai Mirror, the left-handed opener, Shikhar Dhawan was spotted in the Indian team's hotel with his cricket kit bag. After a poor performance from the Indian openers in the first two Tests, the chances of Dhawan making a Test comeback is high.
The background
The Delhi-born batsman was in decent form during the tour of England but he could only score 162 runs in eight innings. However, he was overlooked by the Indian team management during the home Test series against West Indies.
Virat Kohli preferred the young sensation from Mumbai, Prithvi Shaw over the left-handed batsman, Dhawan. Shaw provided the good start to the Indian team in both the Tests against West Indies and he was considered as India's first-choice opener for the Test series against Australia.
But, the things did not go on his way as he injured his left ankle during the practice game against Cricket Australia XI. The team management included Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for injured Shaw.
The heart of the matter
In the absence of Shaw, the Tamil Nadu cricketer, Murali Vijay, and KL Rahul have played both the Test matches in Adelaide and Perth respectively. But, they could not provide good starts to the Indian team as they failed to score in both the Tests.
According to the reports, Shikhar Dhawan, who played the T20I series, decided to stay in Australia with his family. He has not had the best of years so far, especially in the longest format of the game. But, with the kind of form he has been in the limited-overs, he could be a solution for opening owes.
What's next?
There is no confirmation whether he should be included or not but it will not be a surprise if he is included into the squad for the Boxing Day Test, which will be played from December 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news