When Shikhar Dhawan announced his arrival to the Indian team with a scintillating knock of 187 on his Test debut against Australia back in 2013 at Mohali, everyone was of the opinion that India had found someone who could fill the big shoes of Virender Sehwag.
His fascinating stroke play, ability to take on the bowlers and score runs at a brisk pace caught everyone's imagination. However, as time progressed, he emerged as more of a run-a-ball limited overs player who scored runs consistently but not in the same fast paced way like Sehwag. His overall strike rate of 113.25 in 22 T20Is for India until 2016 and his overall Indian Premier League (IPL) strike rate of 121.97 spanning 127 IPL matches until the 2017 edition justify this fact.
However, Dhawan’s approach changed quite drastically since the conclusion of the 2017 edition of the IPL.
He has scored a total of 468 T20I runs in 14 innings since July 2017 at a scintillating overall strike rate of 145.79. And this change has been more visible during the last three months or so, as he has played some of his best T20I knocks during this time.
His knocks of 90 off 49 deliveries against Sri Lanka back in March at Colombo and 72 off 39 deliveries against South Africa at Johannesburg back in February have been the best of the lot.
Moreover, he has begun this new decade of the Indian Premier League in his all new explosive avatar, shrugging off the tag of a slow scorer that he had gained during the first decade of the tournament.
Dhawan has 123 runs to his name in his first two IPL matches this season, that too, at a strike rate of 144.70 and average of 123.
There is no doubt that he has been one of the most consistent run scorers in IPL over the years. He has scored 300 plus runs consistently in each edition since 2011 but it was his scoring pace that had always been deemed to be a bit slow as compared to other openers in T20 cricket. His overall strike rate had rarely crossed the 125 mark in any edition until 2017.
However, this edition promises to be different as he has already made a cracking start to the tournament with knocks of 78* and 45 at an overall strike rate of above 140.
This version of Shikhar Dhawan – version 2.0 – is a more explosive version of his former consistent self. This improved version promises consistency both in terms of runs and high strike rate, a combination that is gold dust for T20 cricket.
He was already considered to be a good T20 opener. Now, he will be considered among the best due to his change in approach and the addition of this new dimension to his playing style.
The change in his batting approach can be attributed to his newly found confidence, sense of freedom and some small tweaks in technique and shot selection.
(Prasenjit Dey is a freelance cricket writer. He can be reached at @Prosen02. The opinions expressed are the author’s own and The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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