[WATCH] Shikhar Dhawan does horse riding, shares video with philosophical message

Veteran Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan has shared a video of him horse riding. The 37-year-old posted a clip of the same on his official Instagram handle on Wednesday, January 4, along with a philosophical message.

Dhawan has not been picked in the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will be played at home. His place in the ODI team came under the scanner after a string of failures in 2022, coupled with a below-par strike rate.

The left-handed batter has registered scores of three, 28, seven, eight, and three in his last five ODI knocks. He ended 2022 with 688 runs in 22 matches at an average of 34.40 and a hugely disappointing strike rate of 74.21.

On Wednesday, Dhawan took to his official Instagram account and shared a horse-riding video with a peppy song. He posted the clip with the caption:

“Asal mein wohi jeevan ki chaal samjhtha hai jo safar mein dhool ko Gulaal samjhta hai🤗🏇 #horsepower.”

Dhawan might find it tough to make a comeback into the Indian ODI team, with youngsters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan grabbing their chances on the big stage.

---

“I will still not count him out” - Sanjay Bangar on Shikhar Dhawan

Former India batting coach and all-rounder Sanjay Bangar reckons that Dhawan can still make a comeback into the ODI squad.

According to Bangar, although the batter is 37, he is still fit enough and, being a left-hander, can be useful. Speaking on Star Sports, Bangar said:

"I will still not count him out. He is quite fit and he is performing. Yes, he has not scored big runs in two or three series but in those series as well he captained India to wins with a young team.

"Right-left combination, the big tournaments India have won - like Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh were there in the 2011 World Cup. So left-handers always create that effectiveness along with right-handers.”

The former all-rounder added that Dhawan could be recalled if someone like Ishan is not available for some reason ahead of the one-day World Cup. He elaborated:

"I don't think it is the end of the road for Shikhar Dhawan. There are 20-25 games still to go. If Ishan Kishan becomes unavailable for some reason, then again I think Shikhar comes back into the fold."

Dhawan has scored 6793 runs in 167 ODIs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35, with 17 hundreds and 39 fifties.