ICC World T20 2014: Shikhar Dhawan needs to work on his technique
Shikhar Dhawan
In the last match against Pakistan, Shikhar Dhawan was little wavered. He had been beaten constantly by Pakistan’s bowlers. He didn’t bother to go on to the backfoot and play those shots. Though he scored 30, it was not a perfectly built innings. Now in this match against West Indies, Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed in similar fashion due to lack of proper batting technique.
Shikhar Dhawan does not know how to handle the back of length delivery. He was also troubled by right-arm pacers. When they land the ball short on middle-stump area, Shikhar Dhawan dances down the track and tries to cut the ball to backward point region. Had he played the shot on backfoot, it would have been comfortable four. This has been the problem for Shikhar Dhawan.
He doesn’t have perfect technique for batsmen. His strength has been front-foot drives. He plays cover drive so well and also he plays the square-cut really well. He picks the length when it is pitched full, but when the ball is dropped just short of good length, Dhawan struggles.
Even when the spinner drops the ball little short and gets turn, Dhawan struggles to pick the length of the bowler. For instance, in the last match against Pakistan, he struggled against Saeed Ajmal. When Saeed Ajmal landed the ball around off-stump area and got the turn, Dhawan should have gone on to the backfoot and played the ball. Instead, he attempted to sweep the ball over square-leg region and was beaten twice.
Therefore Shikhar Dhawan has lot of problem with his batting technique. He can’t survive unless he knows how to play off the backfoot. When Team India goes abroad, the batsmen need to adjust the footwork constantly. Without footwork, it’s really hard to make an impact. You may argue that even Virender Sehwag doesn’t have proper footwork. But one has to admit that he’s an extraordinary player off the backfoot. So, don’t compare him with Sehwag.
Another problem with Shikhar Dhawan is his inability to play the pull-shot. On bouncy wickets, he struggled to pull the ball as they were delivered at good pace around 90 mph. Even on slow wickets, Dhawan is struggling against short-ball. He’s going forward and then pulling the ball which is not a great technique. If you are going to play a pull-shot, you need adjust your footwork. You need to go on to the backfoot and then pull the ball. You must also ensure that the bat faces along the ground so that you won’t get top edge. This technique is completely missing from Dhawan. This is the reason why he struggled in South Africa and New Zealand.
He needs to learn a lot about batting technique. Without proper technique, one can’t really be in the team. He can learn it from Rohit Sharma who improved his performance dramatically against West Indies yesterday. His footwork was proper and he adjusted it according to the line of delivery. He played some delightful backfoot shots and some late-cut towards third-man region was fascinating to watch.
Since Rohit has perfect technique, he can phase his innings. In addition, he has got wide range of shots and therefore he has been able to make an impact. While, Shikhar Dhawan does not have wide range of shots and is capable of playing on front-foot only. Therefore Dhawan needs to learn about footwork. He also needs to learn on adjusting his footwork according to the line and length of delivery. If he does that, Dhawan can gradually improve his performance.
With a tough match against Australia in the World T20, Dhawan must work on his technique. Since Australia have quality pacers, it will be difficult for Dhawan to make an impact unless he has proper technique. It’s difficult, but not impossible for Dhawan to stage a comeback.
We can only hope Dhawan learns his technique and be prepared for the forthcoming overseas tour.