"No negativity, no complaint" - Mohammad Kaif salutes 'drive and passion' of Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has hailed the consistency shown by Indian stalwarts like Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara in competitive cricket of late.
Pujara has had a sensational red-ball leg with Sussex this season and has managed to replicate his form in the Royal London Cup, hitting two centuries. He also made a comeback to the Indian Test team after being left out of the Sri Lanka series at home earlier this year.
Dhawan, on the other hand, continues to be a run-bank for Team India in the ODI format. He played another impressive knock recently, in the first ODI against Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Mohammad Kaif feels the duo have an incredible hunger to succeed despite knowing that they only play one format for Team India.
A salute to Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara for their drive and passion. Just securing a place in the side can't motivate to be this consistent. No negativity, no complaint, if I have a bat in hand I will score, that's pure love for the game. #rukeganahi #shikhar #pujara
The 41-year-old took to his Twitter account, and here's what he had to say about the two senior pros:
"A salute to Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara for their drive and passion. Just securing a place in the side can't motivate to be this consistent. No negativity, no complaint, if I have a bat in hand I will score, that's pure love for the game. #rukeganahi #shikhar #pujara"
Shikhar Dhawan continues to prove why he is an ODI legend
Since the start of 2020, Shikhar Dhawan has scored the most runs for India in ODIs. The southpaw has smashed 11 fifties in his last 22 innings, which is an incredible effort.
While there are a few doubts about his strike rate and ability to press the foot on the accelerator once set, Dhawan continues to be backed by the selectors as well as captain Rohit Sharma in the one-day format.
6500 ODI runs and counting for @SDhawan25 👏👏
#ZIMvIND https://t.co/WVEWQ4ETuX
Many eyes were on the 36-year-old as to how he would respond after being demoted to vice-captain for the Zimbabwe ODIs. However, as Kaif mentioned in his tweet, Dhawan's focus was on scoring runs. He did just that, remaining unbeaten on 81 as India thumped the hosts by 10 wickets.