IPL 2019: Shikhar Dhawan to play for Delhi Daredevils after 11 years

After a lot of deliberations and discussions, it is understood that Shikhar Dhawan will be plying his trade for the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2019. The left-hander was reportedly unhappy with the Sunrisers Hyderabad not retaining him before the auction in 2018. Furthermore, he has expressed disappointment about his pay tag which is INR 5.2 crores. The SRH management used their RTM card for him earlier.

There were reports of him joining the Mumbai Indians or the Kings XI Punjab. But the final deal seems to have been struck with the Delhi Daredevils as per the reports in ESPN Cricinfo. It is after a gap of 11 years that Shikhar Dhawan is back with the Delhi Daredevils.

Shikhar Dhawan traded for three DD players

Shikhar Dhawan has been traded in exchange for three players from the Delhi setup. Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma will join the SRH set up for the next season. This seems to be quite a strategic move from the Hyderabad franchise where they have covered most of their bases.

Nadeem, who is a prolific performer in the domestic circuit will now give them an additional Indian spinner. Vijay Shankar is back with the franchise after a one year gap. He along with young Abhishek are expected to strengthen what is a relatively weak middle-order. Shankar (INR 3.2 cr), Nadeem (INR 3.2 cr) and Abhishek (INR 55 lakhs) were brought for a total of INR 6.95 crore. Hence, SRH will have to pay the balance amount in cash.

Shikhar Dhawan played IPL 2008 for Delhi. Then he moved to Mumbai before he got to Hyderabad. He played for the Deccan Chargers for one season before he represented the Sunrisers. With a tally of 2,768 runs in 91 innings, he is the highest run-scorer for the franchise. The Warner-Dhawan combo is one of the most brutal pairs in the IPL and it will be surely missed.

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