DHAWAN-The man under the scanner

With the Indian team not performing even in the format they cherish the most, it is time we look at the cause of our recent debacles and scan one of our troops going into the world cup.

Shikhar Dhawan- the aggressive, left handed Delhi batsman announced his arrival at the international level in the longest format of the game with a flawless, graceful and a fearless knock against the Australians. The batsman, not known for his technique or temperament but for instinctive, hand-eye coordinated stroke play, has off lately become the brunt of everyone’s flak and criticism.

The tag of “tiger at home and a lamb overseas “ fits him perfectly in the present day scenario. He has had poor tours of South Africa, England, and the recently concluded test series against Australia. Even in the two matches played in the tri series so far , he hasn’t troubled the scorers much and that is one of the reason why India haven’t yet registered a win in the tri series.

Dhawan’s heroics in the champions and his dream run in ODIs in 2013 have earned him a place in the 15 member squad for the world cup even though he had a horror run in 2014 especially in the longer format. His statistics in the last 10 ODI matches might surprise everyone, rather befool one and all and mask the inadequacies in his batting technique. He has piled up 499 runs in his last 10 matches with 4 fifties and a ton at a healthy aggregate of 55.44. These stats are , however, absolutely misleading because of the fact that his  runs have been scored in the subcontinent on flat pitches and that too against ordinary bowling attacks against West indies and Sri Lanka , with Sri Lanka sending a second string side to tour India when West indies suddenly pulled out of the series due to pay disputes.

Looking into the technical aspects of Shikhar’s batting, it would not be wrong to say that he has made the matters worse for himself by, at times, trying to overcompensate for the ball moving away on bouncier tracks by playing at it with a closed face of the bat often resulting in ugly inside edges. This is the reason why he has lost his beautiful cover drive which was his bread and butter shot. Moreover, the problem with the short ball has further added to his woes.

Presently, it seems all gloom and doom for Dhawan and team India. For India to defend their crown, it’s necessary that the opener finds some form in the ongoing tri series. For this, he must have the belief that he can rise from the dark abyss, work on his game with a bit more diligence and intelligence and go all guns blazing in the big event that follows the tri series.