South Africa vs India: Shikhar Dhawan backs underfire Rohit Sharma to come good

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has come out in support of his opening partner Rohit Sharma recently. Albeit the Indian team is leading the six-match ODI series 2-0, all does not seem to be well for the Men in Blue. They are certainly worried about the form of Rohit Sharma. However, Dhawan feels that there is nothing to worry about Rohit’s form.

Also, Shikhar Dhawan credited the Indian wrist spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav – for their exceptional show on the tour thus far. Dhawan noted that it is always difficult to pick the wrist spinners. Also, the foreign players often tend to find it tougher to pick such bowlers. When asked to pick one among the two bowlers, the one who is tougher to pick, Dhawan singled out Kuldeep Yadav to be the one.

“It is difficult to play wrist-spinners because they have the ability to turn the ball on flat tracks as well. And when the ball starts to turn, foreign player find it really difficult, because they are not used to playing such kind of turn. That can create a doubt in batsman’s mind. That is why they are really effective,” Shikhar Dhawan quoted.

“Out of the two spinners Kuldeep and Chahal, the former is more difficult to read as he is a chinaman bowler. There are certain players who can’t read the googly. As far as Chahal is concerned, not many players read his googly,” he added further.

On Rohit Sharma’s struggle

The highlight of the conversation was Shikhar’s take on his opening partner Rohit Sharma. Rohit has had some serious troubles on the tour. He failed miserably in the Test matches and the story was no better in the first two ODIs. Even Shikhar had a poor time in the only Test he played, but he managed to get back in form in the ODIs. Commenting on Rohit, Dhawan stressed that there is nothing to worry about Rohit’s form and he will certainly come good soon.

“I feel Rohit is playing well, looking at the way he is timing the ball. Even in the last match he was playing really good. Unfortunately he got out but, I don’t feel concerned about his batting at all. He has performed so well right from the Champions Trophy, till now. Sometimes it does happen that you don’t score runs. But what matters the most is how he is timing the ball. There is no problem at all with his form. I think he just needs one good innings, to solve all problems,” mentioned Dhawan.

On the secret to India’s success

Commenting on the secret to India’s rapid success across the three formats of the game, Shikhar Dhawan hailed the unit as a balanced side. He mentioned that the current lot has a perfect blend of youth and experience. Furthermore, he stressed on the importance of having all-rounders in the sides who aid flexibility to the camp.

“We are a really balanced side. The good part is we have youth, as well as experience in the side. The youngsters are also showing a lot of maturity. So that is our biggest strength. And in our ranks we have an all-rounder as well, which really helps us. That gives a lot of flexibility to the squad. So we can time the introduction of our spinners according to the situation of the match,” conceded the Indian opener.

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