Questions will be raised on Shikhar Dhawan if he fails in next two matches: Sunil Gavaskar
Questions will be raised on Shikhar Dhawan after his sluggish knock in the first T20I against Bangladesh, feels former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. Dhawan was the top-scorer for the Men in Blue in their 7-wicket loss against Bangladesh in the opening T20I in New Delhi on Sunday. However, his run-a-ball approach baffled many during his 41-run-knock off 42 balls.
Dhawan started off slowly and took his time to settle down after India lost Rohit Sharma (9) in the very first over of their innings. The left-hander did slam three fours and a six in his knock but failed to accelerate his strike rate. He was eventually sent back to the hut after getting run-out in an unfortunate manner. Gavaskar said the remaining two games will be crucial for Dhawan, who will be under scrutiny for his strike rate.
“Questions will be raised on Shikhar Dhawan if he doesn’t bat well in the next 2 matches. The team is not going to benefit if you’re scoring 40-45 runs from the same number of balls. He will have to think about this. When players come back after the gap, it does take a lot of time to get back the rhythm,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying in an interview.
Dhawan had fractured his left thumb while playing for India in the 2019 World Cup against Australia. He was subsequently ruled out of the tournament with KL Rahul taking his opening slot and Rishabh Pant replacing him in the squad. The southpaw made his comeback in the side in the ODI series against West Indies in the Caribbean following the World Cup.
He did not have a great outing with the bat on the Windies tour and returned with 27 and 38 runs from three T20Is and two ODIs respectively. The left-hander, however, redeemed himself with two crucial knocks of 40 and 36 runs respectively in the two T20Is against South Africa at home.
Dhawan is all but certain to be India’s first-choice opener at the World T20 in Australia next year and his form will be crucial for the team with less than a year left for the showpiece event.
