IPL 2019: Will Shikhar Dhawan roar for Delhi Daredevils?
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has never failed to impress us – be it in the IPL or in international limited overs cricket.
Dhawan played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2013 to 2018, and is their leading run-getter with 2768 runs to his name. But he will no longer be seen in orange colors.
Earlier this year, Dhawan was picked up again by the Sunrisers in the auction using the RTM (Right to Match) card. However, it later emerged that the batsman was unhappy about his price tag.
Sunrisers Hyderabad released a statement a few days back saying that they are exchanging Dhawan to Delhi Daredevils for Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem. So the big question now is, will Shikhar Dhawan be able to score big for Delhi Daredevils?
Shikhar Dhawan for Delhi Daredevils
Dhawan is the sixth highest run-scorer in the IPL, having scored 4,058 runs in 143 matches at a strike rate of 123.53. The batsman started his IPL career by playing for Delhi and had a decent tally of four half-centuries to his name in the first season.
Dhawan's move from Sunrisers to Delhi has got cricket fans everywhere talking. While Delhi fans are more than happy to have their star opener back in their side, Hyderabad fans are frustrated that the management let go of their favorite player.
That said, it will be a treat for neutral cricket fans to see Dhawan swinging his bat at his home ground.
Will Dhawan score big?
Dhawan’s recent form has been questioned by many. Though he managed to get a few runs against Windies, he wasn't the high-scoring batsman that we have become accustomed to seeing.
After scoring 3 and 43 in the first two T20s against West Indies, it was in the third T20 that he scored a match-winning 92 runs off 62 balls (with a strike rate of 148.38) to help India seal the series 3-0.
Though Dhawan missed out on a spot for the Indian Test series against Australia, he will still be the star opener for India in the T20 and ODI series.
The Australian tour could well determine how strongly he can perform for the Delhi Daredevils. If he builds up a head of confidence going into next year's IPL, he will be hard to stop.
The Delhi fans would love seeing their local boy open for their team in the 2019 season. Will he score big though? We’ll have to wait and watch for that.