Cricket News: Why it seems to be the end of the line for Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

However, among all the chaos of the BCCI choosing to leave out these big names, there were two players whose exclusion flew a little under the radar. 

Neither Shikhar Dhawan nor Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been named in any of the squads for the Sri Lanka series, and it is in many ways telling. 

One can argue that it might be the end of the road for both of these players in the Indian cricket team as things stand. 

It is worth noting that stranger things have happened in the past, and a miraculous comeback to the side for either or both of these men cannot be ruled out. 

But, given their recent performances, it does feel like the Indian team management is content looking in other directions. 

For Dhawan, it is doubly harsh in some ways because, in 2022, he often captains the ODI team in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Rahul. 

There's also the fact that he was, at this point, a player who only played one format – ODIs. His Test career has long been over, and he was also slowly phased out of T20Is. 

But now it seems unlikely that he will make a comeback, and the reason for that is his slow starts atop the order. 

In recent times, Dhawan's strike rate has been a significant issue, and he had a very forgettable tour of Bangladesh, where he generally struggled to get going. 

It doesn't help matters that you have players like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan waiting in the wings. Gill is also a classical batsman but is better at striking rotation and finding the boundary than Dhawan. 

As for Kishan, what he lacks in strike rotation, he more than makes up for when it comes to clean hitting – as proved by his double ton against Bangladesh. 

Both are seen as better options than the ageing Dhawan, and it will take a miracle for him to mount any comeback. 

As for Bhuvi, the writing had been on the wall post the T20 World Cup. He remained a lethal bowler in favourable conditions, but that was the caveat – if conditions weren't good, he wasn't effective.

This was evident in the semi-final against England, where Jos Buttler and Alex Hales targeted him without any early swing. 

It doesn't help matters that he has lost more than a few yards of pace, and a bowler who is bowling at 130 km/h and not getting any swing whatsoever is of no harm to the opposition. 

India's drafting of Mukesh Kumar and Shivam Mavi shows a willingness to move in a new direction. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Highest wicket taker in the T20I format for India - Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been dropped.<br><br>He is just 32; will we never see him play for India again? <a href="https://t.co/78RvQMnbdD">pic.twitter.com/78RvQMnbdD</a></p>&mdash; 12th Khiladi (@12th_khiladi) <a href="https://twitter.com/12th_khiladi/status/1607785960221323264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So the 2022 T20 World Cup might well be the end of Bhuvi's international career, given he is no longer a Test player either. 

Again, one should never say never. But if the young blood takes their chances well, then Dhawan and Bhuvi will find a comeback impossible.