Tom Moody defends Shikhar Dhawan despite his poor string of form

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are enjoying a gala time in the season’s Indian Premier League (IPL), as they top the charts with 12 points and have also played a match less than second-placed Chennai Super Kings. While Hyderabad’s bowling unit has been extremely impressive, the batting department has lacked the required firepower. In such a scenario, the bowlers have stepped up and almost single-handedly won the matches for the team.

Also, Shikhar Dhawan’s elbow injury has doubled the Hyderabad-based outfit’s miseries and has seriously affected the team’s ability to fire at the top of the order. Dhawan was hit by a short ball bowled by Kings XI Punjab pacer Barinder Sran during their fixture against KXIP on April 19. However, since that nasty blow to his elbow, the 32-year-old has failed to produce a big score which has been a pressing concern for the orange outfit.

Head coach Tom Moody, however, wasn’t overly concerned with the form of his batting mainstay, who has only managed to put a string of low scores in the last few fixtures. Defending the left-hander, Moody said it was about time that the Delhi-based player got the expected runs.

Speaking on the eve of Sunrisers’ match against Delhi Daredevils, Moody said, “Shikhar got a nasty knock on his elbow and that has affected his momentum a little. But, he is a world-class player and he will bounce back and can dominate as well.”

Dhawan needs to shoulder responsibilities in the absence of David Warner

SRH camp is already missing David Warner as the Australian was banned following the ball-tampering scandal. Thus, Dhawan who has always been amongst the runs for SRH has been at the helm of the team’s batting in the ongoing edition.

He started strong with a match-winning 77 in the first game against Rajasthan Royals. He then hit a 45 in his team’s narrow win over Mumbai Indians but has failed to continue the momentum after returning from the injury break. Dhawan will be keen to get the big scores in the remainder of the tournament and live up to his lofty repute.

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