Shikhar Dhawan’s strike rate in the first match of the India vs Bangladesh T20I series has not pleased Sunil Gavaskar.
Dhawan was the highest scorer for India in the game which took place in Delhi, but the 41 runs that he scored came off 42 balls which, according to Gavaskar, is not acceptable in the shortest format of the game.
Dhawan has not featured consistently for India in the last 6 months or so. He has lost his place in the test side and even in the white ball formats, he has missed quite a few games due to injury.
He was a part of India’s World Cup squad, but got hit on his thumb in the second match and sustained a fracture which ruled him out of the whole tournament.
The left-hander made a comeback on the West Indies tour, but he seems to be struggling to find his old touch. The fluency in his batting is missing.
According to Gavaskar, it can happen with players. When they have to stay out of the game because of injuries, it takes its toll and it’s never easy to come back and start batting fluently straightaway.
But, what Dhawan must understand is the demands of the format that he is currently playing. If he bats till the 15th over mark and still ends up with a strike rate of less than 100, people will ask questions.
“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.” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
Bangladesh beat India in the first match of the T20I series by 7 wickets and are now leading 1-0 with the second game to be held in Rajkot on Thursday.