Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that ODI format suits Shikhar Dhawan the best, adding that he has been “excellent” in it so far. He said that he is glad the selectors have shown faith in Dhawan and reminded themselves that he is still a force in the 50-over format. Manjrekar opined that Dhawan has always been “the best” in ODIs, adding that it is good to see him back opening with Rohit Sharma.
The former Mumbai batter also lauded Dhawan for his fitness levels. “Shikhar Dhawan who’s got only one format now that he can cling on but interestingly right through his career, from start to end, if you look at his performance in 50 overs cricket, it’s always been the best,” said Manjrekar. “This is a format that suits him best and a format where he’s been excellent. And I’m so glad that selectors have shown faith in him and reminded themselves that Shikhar Dhawan is still a force in 50 overs cricket. So brilliant to see them at the top,” added Manjrekar. Dhawan last played a T20I in 2021 and a Test in 2018. He currently features only in ODIs for India and has played five ODIs in 2022, scoring 210 runs at an average of 52.50 with two fifties.
He also averaged over 50 in the foramt in 2020 and 2021. “I’m glad that Dhawan got this innings together and I hope he keeps on getting this kind of innings together because Rohit Sharma will be around. He’s playing, you know, all the formats and the left-hand, right-hand combination at the top, I think it’ll be okay. And if you look at Dhawan’s fitness, he doesn’t look his age on the field and it’s something that he cares a lot about making sure that he’s fit and fine and just pure batting. If you look at his performance in the domestic leagues although the T20 league, I think his batting has gone up like this, the graph has gone up with the age as well,” explained Manjrekar. Dhawan is currently a part of the Indian squad in England and scored an unbeaten 31 off 54 in the 10-wicket victory in the first ODI at The Oval on July 12.
