Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Have Taken Most Of The Accolades But This Man Has Been A Gun Player: Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri reckons that Shikhar Dhawan has been a serious player over the years and deserves all the accolades he is getting right now for scoring 6000 IPL runs.

New Delhi: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri lavished huge praise on India opener Shikhar Dhawan by terming him a ‘gun player‘ and pointed out that in India most of the accolades have gone to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli while Dhawan with all the ability he has when he is fit, has been a serious batter right between Kohli and Rohit.

“I call him a gun player because in this country most of the accolades have gone to Rohit and Virat, but this man has been a serious player right between them when he’s fit. He deserves all the accolades he’s getting. He’s scored 6000 runs in IPL. He reads the conditions (very well), sees what the pitch has to offer, understands what his role is and he chooses the right bowlers to hit,” said Shastri on Cricket Live show on Star Sports.

Having scored 6000 runs in the IPL, Dhawan has been one of the best openers in the league and former India pacer Irfan Pathan reckons that Dhawan has been one of the main reasons behind Punjab Kings getting off to explosive starts.

“Punjab Kings are the most explosive team in the powerplay this season and the reason behind it is Shikhar Dhawan’s batting. Their approach has been very simple in TATA IPL 2022 i.e. to build their innings around Dhawan, who is looking to bat deep. While Dhawan continues to play his natural game, the rest of the batsmen are providing that supporting act and looking to score aggressively in the death overs,” said Irfan Pathan.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen feels that it is his ability to hit the good balls for runs is what makes Dhawan so special.

“Best players, no matter where you’re bowling (to them), make some of the best deliveries look ordinary. That’s something which some of the best batters have, and he’s one of those guys. He has that (extra) time, that skill and that orthodox nature whereby it doesn’t even look that he’s hitting the ball hard,” feels Pietersen.