IPL 2019: Sourav Ganguly praises Shikhar Dhawan, calls him “one of the best openers in the world"

Shikhar Dhawan must be on cloud 9 after his brilliant innings of 97 not out helped Delhi Capitals register a thumping win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens the other night. This was the second time the Delhi-based franchise bested the Kolkata one, as they had won the Super Over in the previous meeting at Kotla.

Dhawan carried the team to the win and though he didn’t reach his first T20 century, he did register his highest ever score in the format and was happy that he played a huge part in the team’s win. Similar sentiments were shared by DC’s advisor and former KKR captain Sourav Ganguly, who heaped praises on the Delhi openers. “It is an important phase of the tournament. It’s good to see Shikhar get a good score with the tournament entering the second phase,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India TV news.

The franchise was ‘desperate’ to rope-in Dhawan after he left SRH, reveals Ganguly

Dhawan, who had made his IPL debut for Delhi when they were Daredevils, back in 2008, made his name and career for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, after a dispute with the franchise over his worth, Dhawan parted ways with the team and was traded to DC in lieu of three players.

“Probably he’s one of the best opening batsmen in the world. We were desperate for Shikhar Dhawan when we heard that he’s going to leave SRH. Good that he is coming off. It was more like a Shikhar Dhawan innings once he gets set, he takes the game away. He is a class act. He plays exactly the same way when he plays for India. He’s been scoring consistently in the shorter format in International cricket,” Ganguly further added.

Ganguly also showed faith in Dhawan doing good for team India in the upcoming World Cup 2019. “World Cup is a different format but Shikhar plays very well in England. He is a fantastic one-day cricketer. He will do well in the World Cup. He was the batsman of the series in the Champions Trophy,” said the former left-handed batsman.

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