Shikhar Dhawan is still a force in 50 overs cricket: Sanjay Manjrekar

Shikhar Dhawan marked his return to international cricket with the ongoing England series and will continue to play further as he is scheduled to captain the Indian side against the West Indies in the upcoming ODIs. The prolific opening batter received praises from former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who believes that Dhawan can make a significant contribution to Indian cricket.

Even after some worthy knocks in the Indian Premier League, Dhawan has been out of the T20I picture and he is majorly looked upon only in the 50-over format. With the ODI World Cup 2023 approaching next year and India being the host for the event, Dhawan would look to retain his place in the squad by showcasing some consistent and reliable performances.

“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. 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,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘Sports Over The Top’.

While Dhawan’s performance in the recently concluded second ODI against England was something that can be overlooked, he supported the skipper Rohit Sharma well in the first game that India won by 10 wickets. Sharma scored most of the runs in India’s 110-run chase, but Dhawan was a great aid on the field and the duo remained unbeaten throughout to win the game for India. Speaking of his partnership with Sharma, Manjrekar said:

“I’m glad that Dhawan got this innings together and I hope he keeps on getting these kinds 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.”

Shikhar Dhawan doesn’t look his age on the field: Manjrekar

Dhawan will be turning 37 in six months, but his fitness and physique do not make him look any older. Manjrekar also mentioned that the batter focuses a lot on his fitness so it has a positive effect on his performance with the bat.

“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 in the T20 league, I think his batting has gone up like this, the graph has gone up with the age as well,” concluded the former cricketer.