India vs Windies: Ajit Agarkar feels Shikhar Dhawan will be disappointed with his performances

He made a remarkable comeback in the Asia Cup held in the United Arab Emirates bagging the Man of the Series award after a disappointing tour of England. But the dashing left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan’s Asia Cup form looked temporary as he was out of sorts in the just-concluded ODI series against the Windies at home.
Dhawan could manage just 112 runs in five outings against the Caribbeans even as India’s other frontline batsmen made merry in the series.

While the captain Virat Kohli smashed three hundreds – all consecutive – in the first three games, Dhawan’s opening partner Rohit Sharma hit two match-winning 150-plus scores in the series. Ambati Rayudu, who has made a return to the Indian team since the Asia Cup, also rose to the occasion, hitting a ton in the fourth game in Mumbai.

It’s not that the hard-hitting southpaw didn’t get starts but he failed to convert those into big knocks. Dhawan hit a couple of 30s and a 29 and would be disappointed for having failed to play one single big knock during the series that India won 3-1 with one match getting tied. Former India speedster Ajit Agarkar also felt the same after he was dismissed early in the paltry chase.

Thomas and Nurse – His nemesis

In the five matches, Shikhar Dhawan has fallen to debutant pacer Oshane Thomas twice (he was his first international wicket in Guwahati) and spinner Ashley Nurse twice and once to fast-medium Keemo Paul, who also started his international career this year. With matches coming up in Australia and New Zealand after the T20I series with the Windies, Dhawan will be disappointed not to have made the most of the opportunity he had at home.

“That is the second time he played on Oshane Thomas on to the wicket. I think the extra pace and the bounce would have got better of him. Yeah, he would like to get some runs. In a series, where the rest of the players around him got the runs, he missed out in all the games,” Ajit Agarkar told ESPN Cricinfo after Dhawan dragged the ball from the Windies pacer on to his stumps just as he did in Guwahati.

Agarkar, however, felt confident that Dhawan will make a comeback in the T20I series starting November 4. The first match will be played in Kolkata where the current World Champions Windies lifted their title in 2016.

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