'The guy sacrificed his cricket for others' - Fans react as Shikhar Dhawan is excluded from Indian squad for Asian Games 2023

Shikhar Dhawan (Source: Twitter)

India announced its squad for the Asian Games 2023 to be held in Hangzhou in China. The big tournament will take place from the 23rd of September to the 8th of October and will witness the comeback of cricket in the games after 9 years. With the all-important ODI World Cup just days after the Asian Games, the Indian team selected fresh faces for the Asian Games.

The Indian men’s squad for Asian Games 2023 is Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (WK). Yash Thakur, Deepak Hooda, Sai Kishore, Sai Sudarshan, and Venkatesh Iyer are on the list of standby players.

Ruturaj Gaikwad is named the captain of the tournament. The emerging player has led his domestic team Maharashtra in recent times. It will be a good opportunity for the young player to prove his capabilities as a leader on a much bigger stage. Jitesh Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh have got their opportunities as wicketkeepers in the team.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, and Shivam Dube have made it to the squad because of their good performance in the Indian premier league earlier this year. Some others like Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Mavi, Avesh Khan, and Rahul Tripathi made it to the squad due to consistent performances over the years.

Shikhar Dhawan unconsidered in the squad

Earlier, reports suggested Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Indian side. But unfortunately, the Southpaw is not even considered to be in the squad. The 37-year-old led the Indian team in 2021 and 2022 when some of the senior players were rested. It was assumed that Dhawan would be selected as the Indian captain similarly this time around too. But the Delhi cricketer was not considered.

It might well be an indication of the end of the amazing career of Shikhar Dhawan, who has served Team India with his amazing batsmanship and leadership. The opening batter has 2315 runs in Tests, 6793 runs in ODIs, and 1759 runs in T20Is for India.

Here's how the fans reacted to Shikhar Dhawan's exclusion from the side: 

Politics??

— Akash (@AkashBorude7781) July 15, 2023

India moved on from Dhawan. The selectors have sent out the right message. If they stick to this second string squad and quietly move them up to the main squad, they will be in the right track for 2024 and beyond

— Raj🇮🇳 (@RajkumarBalach1) July 14, 2023

true , he was indeed a servant. 🥲

— haydn (@HaydnHere) July 14, 2023

True bcz India don't respect their stars,they disrespect them
Nd it's shameful 💔

— Shreya Shukla (@ShreyaShukla234) July 14, 2023

The guy sacrificed his cricket for others 🙏

— Lenson (@lensond) July 14, 2023

This is disrespect of our great player😢 pic.twitter.com/iSP1DgJySz

— Sandeep Joshi (@sandeepjoshi_21) July 15, 2023

He should have been considered for World Cup. His record in ICC tournaments is amazing. He’s fine ODI batter and I still believe we need him in home World Cup along with Shubhman. Maybe Rohit can play at number 5 for sake of World Cup. It could be game changer.

— Blake (@mrethanblake) July 14, 2023

Actually it's good news may be bcci consider him in world cup 👏👏🙌

— Saurabh (@Dyco9527) July 14, 2023

- Got divorced
- Dropped from the national team after 2-3 failures
- Can't meet his own son
- Drop from the Asian games squad (was supposed to Captain the team)

Still always smiles, man of golden heart ❤️
Shikar Dhawan😭

— Guri Pbks (@Guri_Pbks) July 14, 2023

If Shikar Dhawan Not Even in World Cup Squad🙏🏻

Then From That Day No Support to ICT

They Can’t disrespect Our Senior Players Like This🙏🏻

He Don’t Even Complaint anything Always Happy
I Feel So Bad For Him🙏🏻

— Guri Pbks (@Guri_Pbks) July 14, 2023