Last Update on: January 11th, 2020 at 09:43 am
Shikhar Dhawan has been facing a lot of criticism in recent time. Not only the fans but even some former cricketers had taken shots at him, saying that they would prefer KL Rahul ahead of the southpaw. Things have not really gone Shikhar Dhawan’s way since he injured his thumb during his stunning century knock against Australia in the World Cup.
The injury ruled him out of the competition and KL Rahul made the most of the opportunity by scoring two fifties and a century after being asked to open. Since then, Rahul has continued to impress while Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty. An unfortunate injury before the West Indies series dealt another blow to the senior opener.
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While he was on the sidelines, Rahul made the most of it by scoring two fifties in the T20I series and a century in the subsequent ODI series. And as Rahul went on impressing, former cricketers like Gautam Gambhir and K Srikanth said that they would like to see the right-handed batsman opening the batting for India instead of Shikhar Dhawan.
Sanjay Manjrekar on Shikhar Dhawan:
Shikhar Dhawan, on Saturday, finally returned to form and scored an impressive fifty to help India beat Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Pune. The senior opener matched Rahul shot for shot and scored 52 runs off 36 balls while adding 97 runs with his opening partner for the first wicket. And as Shikhar Dhawan impressed against Sri Lanka, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar took to Twitter to praise him.
The ex-cricketer-turned-commentator lauded Shikhar Dhawan for showing character in tough times, writing:
“Nothing but respect for Shikhar Dhawan. When pushed to the wall, shows his character. Incidentally his greatest strength that, his character.”
Nothing but respect for Shikhar Dhawan. When pushed to the wall, shows his character. Incidentally his greatest strength that, his character.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 10, 2020
India, meanwhile, beat Sri Lanka by 78 runs to win the three-match series 2-0. After being asked to bat first, the hosts rode on fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul to post 201 for 6. In reply, Sri Lanka were all out for a paltry 123.