IPL 2016: Sunil Gavaskar feels Shikhar Dhawan is under pressure to perform
Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar feels that the reason behind Shikhar Dhawan's poor form is because of his slow footwork and his tendency to get out for a low score in a few matches at one go.
Gavaskar feels the Indian opener is constantly under pressure to perform. "The problem is when Dhawan fails, he fails in 4-5 matches and people forget the runs that he has scored. He has 9 centuries and around 17 scores of over 50 in limited overs cricket.
“He has been successful in every three and half innings, which is very acceptable. But when he fails, he fails in 4-5 innings," said the former right-handed opener. The Delhi-born cricketer got out cheaply scoring 8, 6 and 2 in the first three matches he has played in the tournament so far and has made just 16 runs.
“What I saw in the IPL, I found his feet are moving a bit slow. I would suggest he does a fair bit of skipping and it would certainly help,” he added.
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Gavaskar had earlier defended Dhawan's poor performance during South Africa's tour of India in 2015, saying that the left-hander needs another chance to prove himself.
Dhawan's form also faced a slump during the recently concluded World T20 and was replaced by Ajinkya Rahane in the semi-finals. He had apologised to his fans on his Twitter account and vowed to work on his weaknesses and turn them into his strengths.
"Good to see Gambhir perform"
Gavaskar was all praise for Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambir, who is currently the highest run-scorer in this season of the IPL with 192 runs and also said that it is not too late for him to make a comeback to the Indian team.
“You should never give up. What’s the point of playing in Ranji Trophy and IPL if you don’t feel that you are still good enough to play for India. It is good to see him (Gambhir) perform,” he said about the Delhi cricketer, who has been facing a national side snub.
He feels Gambhir must have worked on his footwork that had caused problems for him earlier. “He must have worked hard as he has had a bit of footwork problems earlier,” he said.
Gavaskar also heaped praise on the young RCB batsman Sarfaraz Khan whose 35 off 10 balls in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad has been applauded by everyone.