Sunil Gavaskar reckons Shikhar Dhawan should change his game in order to be a successful overseas Test batsman

Shikhar Dhawan has been one of India’s prolific run scorers in international cricket, especially in the sub-continent conditions. However, his numbers in Test cricket in the overseas territory hasn’t been impressive by any stretch of the imagination. After a couple of mediocre limited-overs series’ against England, Dhawan slumped to bag a pair against Essex at County Ground in Chelmsford.

Even in the first Test against the Brits at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the Delhi-born cricketer could only manage scores of 26 and 13. In the first innings, he built a healthy 50-run stand with Murali Vijay after which he succumbed to left-arm seamer Sam Curran. He couldn’t deliver in India’s second innings during his team’s pursuit of chasing 194 runs and fell prey to fast-bowler Stuart Broad.

Shikhar simply does not want to change his game

Such has been his form that the supporters are calling for the left-handed batsman to be sidelined from the eleven for the second Test at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. In the meantime, Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian batsman, reckons that Dhawan should try and change his batting approach in order to taste success abroad under trying conditions.

“Shikhar simply does not want to change his game. He believes in playing in the same manner which has brought him success till now. You can still get away with such shots in one-day cricket because there aren’t many slips and the push or the edge goes for a boundary through the slip cordon,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Aaj Tak.

“But in Tests, such shots will only result in a fall of a wicket. Till a player makes a mental adjustment, he will continue to struggle against the red ball in overseas conditions,” the 69-year-old added.

Dhawan’s Test records in countries like England, Australia and South Africa are horrendous, to say the least. In the three nations, he has scored 436 runs in ten matches and most importantly, he is yet to score a half-century. In England, he has only managed 161 runs in four matches at an average of 20.12.

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