We all love to see Shikhar Dhawan in action. There is some kind of swag and style to his batting which is accompanied by his relaxed yet assuring smile. Fans love it when he calmly takes on the best bowlers of the opponent team! However in recent times, when it comes to T20I cricket, Shikhar Dhawan has left our eyes sore. The recent WI vs IND T20 series 2019 was no different for Dhawan. In this article, we will delve into Shikhar Dhawan’s recent T20I woes.
A short ball in line of the stumps, the batsman tries to pull it off the crease but only ends up miscuing it towards the leg side. Next ball, the batsman succeeds in connecting better but finds the fielder who was stationed at short fine leg. The shot wasn’t even a concerted one for the ball which was rising on the batsman, that in short, is the summary of Shikhar Dhawan’s T20I career.
His T20I batting numbers
For a batsman who has played over 50 T20Is, Dhawan’s average of 27.28 is the fifth-worst among all openers who have played at least 50 matches in the shortest format of the game for their country.
Since 2015, for any Indian who has played at least 30 T20Is, Dhawan’s average is better than only Suresh Raina which doesn’t make for good reading at all.
Dhawan made his T20I debut, way back in 2011 but its only in 2018 that he had a batting average above 40. It was 25.08 in 2016, 25.4 in 2017 and he averages just 15 in the seven games played this year.
Coming Two T20 World Cups
India’s strategy of backing ODI players in the T20Is to give them game time has not helped matters but now with two T20 World Cups coming in 2020 and 2021, it is imperative that India starts looking beyond Dhawan at the top of the order.
Dhawan usually loves ICC tournaments but that is only the 50-over format. In the two T20 World Cups that he has featured in, he has a modest average of 10.57 with the highest score of 30.
Dhawan’s injury put India’s plans in the World Cup down the drain and it might not be long before the openers are rotated. While the three games might be too less for any form of rotation, Dhawan will want to better his numbers in West Indies and prep himself for the upcoming challenges.
Caribbean Challenge
Shikhar has work to do in the ODI format as well, in the games in the Caribbean, the Indian opener averages just 26.07 with no centuries from the 14 games played. India will know how critical he is to their chances at the top of the order and will want him to get going and show his best form to help them build a platform for the inexperienced middle order to come good.
None of the above statistics gives you the impression that he has his T20I game sorted. For any experienced player who has been playing the IPL for quite a while, Dhawan hasn’t been able to switch gears and up to his game.
IPL Form
For Delhi Capitals as well, he began in a sedate manner going at his usual rate before Ricky Ponting openly asked the opener to go a bit harder at the top. His strike rate suddenly went up to 151 after being in the mid 120s earlier but his numbers dwindled by the time the season was over.
In the three T20Is in West Indies, the Delhi batsman has looked out of sorts. He was rushing into his shots, wasn’t picking the length early and looked rusty, something that can happen to anyone who is coming back from an injury.
KL Rahul as an alternative?
The only thing that might work in Dhawan’s favor could be that his average of 38 and strike rate of 168.14 in T20Is in Australia, could make the management back the southpaw at the top of the order.
But that is all there is since overall numbers though, clearly back the case of Rahul opening the batting with Rohit Sharma in T20Is for India. In his 28-game career, Rahul has a batting average of 42.80 and strikes at an excellent strike rate of 148.10 with a couple of tons to go with it.
What makes Rahul’s case even stronger is his IPL form, his 17 scores of over fifty have come at a strike rate of 138.16 which is significantly higher than that for Dhawan who has scored 39 fifties with an IPL career strike rate of 124.78.
Dhawan’s IPL average of 33.17 is also a lot less than that of Rahul who goes at 42.06. The left-hander has played many more games in the IPL and at the top of the order yet has not been able to prove his mettle as a T20 player.
Yes, India wants to reward consistency and back their players, which was evident when the team didn’t want to let go of Dhawan despite the injury during the World Cup but at times, some harsh calls have to be taken keeping in mind the long term future of the T20I side.
What Shikhar needs to do from here on?
Shikhar might want to start churning out runs at a good rate and consistently as India prepares for the upcoming World Cups with enough games in hand. He could just cue from his opening partner Rohit Sharma, who seems to have embraced the T20Is like fish to water with as many as four tons in the format.
What should please Dhawan the most would be the words of his Delhi teammate and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, after the third T20I against West Indies.
“He’s an experienced player, and we don’t really look much into T20 cricket, because you need to get on with the game and you will get out at some stage.
“Fifty-over cricket gives you a chance to get into your innings, and we all know the skill set that he has. So the ODI series will give him a chance to ease into things and not necessarily have to go after the bowler all the time. He’s an experienced enough player to know how to build an innings and how to get runs.”
Dhawan will want to live up to the expectations of not just his captain but himself as well. All eyes will be on him as he returns from injury, with rusty form in T20Is, to play the format that he thrives in – the ODIs. Once he gets back among the runs, he might find adjusting to the demands of the T20Is easier, like it was in 2018.
That done, we might see the smiling Gabbar back, twirling his mustache, his arms open and wide, celebrating his success as he rightly should. That will be a sight for our sore eyes!
(About the Author: Nikhil is a passionate cricket writer who thrives on following the beautiful sport cricket and writes extensively on the same. Apart from that, he is a Potterhead till the end of time. He can be followed on Twitter @CricCrazyNIKS)
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