“India Should Still Back Shikhar Dhawan Because….” – Wasim Jaffer Makes A Huge Remark On Veteran Opener

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Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Wasim Jaffer has stated that the Indian team management needs to show some faith in the veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and he needs to be backed.

Shikhar Dhawan registered three single-digit scores in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, where the Men In Blue lost by 1-2. Overall, in his last ten ODIs, Dhawan has registered scores of 3, 8, 7, 28, 3, 72, 8, 13, 4 and 40.

In ODI cricket in 2022, Shikhar Dhawan has scored 688 runs at an average of 34.4 and a strike rate of 74.21, including 6 half-centuries and his dot ball percentage is 60. Following his failure in the third ODI against Bangladesh, many called for his exit from the team.

However, Wasim Jaffer feels that the experienced opener Dhawan needs to be backed because he has been a consistent performer for the Men In Blue in 50-over cricket for an extended period of time. Jaffer also mentioned that Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli received a lot of backing despite failing to perform well for a long period of time. During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Wasim Jaffer said:

“I think they should still back him because he has got that record and then I feel part of that reason is that he doesn’t play international cricket as consistently as he used to do it. There are not many One-days in the recent past and he found himself out of touch and not playing quality cricket.

“And that is part of the reason I feel. If you look back, how Yuvraj Singh probably how India backed him, before the 2011 World Cup he had a pretty ordinary time or even Virat Kohli for that matter. Even before this World Cup, there were voices going around ‘what to do with Virat Kohli’ and then he came with a bang.”

You need to back that experience – Wasim Jaffer

Punjab Kings batting coach Wasim Jaffer further said that the Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan is a quality player, who has the ability to score centuries on a regular basis. He elaborated:

“I think we need to back Shikhar Dhawan as well because once he gets going, he’s that kind of player who can get hundreds on the regular basis.

“Even though Ishan Kishan is a left-handed batter as well but Shikhar Dhawan is a quality player, so you need to back that experience.”

Jaffer added that Shikhar Dhawan being a single-format player doesn’t get the opportunity to play a lot of cricket and that’s why it gets difficult for him to come in and score runs in international cricket. He explained:

“You can’t buy experience. I can understand because he doesn’t play too much international cricket at the moment, he is not part of the T20 team and he’s out of Test contention. So there’s not much cricket for him and to come in and start scoring runs in international cricket is sometimes very hard. It’s 50-over World Cup next. So India is going to play a lot of one-day cricket so I am sure he’ll get back to his best soon.”