'Should we go back to Dhawan or...': R Ashwin shares his opinion on India's opener debate

Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan's rise in the One Day Internationals has put up a question mark on Shikhar Dhawan's spot as an opener in Team India's ODI side. Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have impressed a lot with their performances in the recent ODI's and also have cemented their place in the ODI team. 

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has put his point of view on the ongoing debate. Ashwin thinks that Team India has always had great top order batsmen. Ashwin has praised Shikhar Dhawan as a stalwart in the ODI format. Ashwin also gave his views on the debate that Dhawan has been a 'silent' contributor in India's success. 

Ashwin said: 'Dhawan is a stalwart'

On his YouTube channel Ashwin said, "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?". 

Ashwin said: 'We should see what the team requires'

“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?", Ashwin added. 

Ashwin also praised Shubman Gill for his fabulous batting performance in the past. “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", Ashwin said. 

Shikhar Dhawan has been a consistent contributor in terms of runs for Team India in ODI format. Shikhar Dhawan till now has played 167 ODI's and has made 6793 runs at an average of 44.1. Shikhar has not been in good form in recent times and has been in and out of the team. Shikhar was not selected in the ODI squad for the recent series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.