Ravi Shastri finds similarities between Shikhar Dhawan and AB de Villiers
Ravi Shastri, the Team India Director, in a recent interview to bcci.tv, spoke about the similarities between Shikhar Dhawan and AB de Villiers and about India’s strengths and areas of improvement, after their 3-0 win over South Africa.
Shastri mentioned that Dhawan and de Villiers were both dominating batsmen, but bore a similarity when it came to sacrificing their instincts and playing for the team, as was evident in the last Test between India and South Africa.
Dhawan, who’d had an ordinary series so far, played two knocks of 33 and 21, but showed significant patience while seeing off the new ball against two terrific spells by Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott, thereby making it easier for the likes of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to capitalize.
“In fact, I told him after the match, ‘You scored 20s and 30s in this series but don’t ever forget that those runs are priceless. They are as important as a 70, 80 or hundred on any other surface. You stalled the new-ball bowlers, kept them at bay and took your side in a solid position,’” said Shastri.
AB on the other hand, suppressed his attacking demeanor, and played out two and a half sessions making only 43 runs from 297 deliveries. On the South African batsman’s innings, he said: “How many people would have thought AB de Villiers would bat for three sessions for 40 runs? For me, the respect for him has gone several notches higher.”
“Shikhar did the same thing. They are similar players – both are attacking and they like to dominate. But they sacrificed their instincts for their team, and that shows their strong character. They both would have learned something about their own game from this series.”
Talking about Ashwin, who undisputably has been India’s hero in the last two series victories in against Sri Lanka and South Africa, the former India captain mentioned that Ashwin got back to his basics and worked very hard, the results of which is for everyone to see.
“Nothing succeeds like success. When he started bowling well, he kept growing in confidence. And what he has done since then is a astounding,” he said.
On Kohli’s captaincy, Shastri said: “December 9, 2014, the young man captained India in a Test match for the first time, in Adelaide. A year later I can say that he is now a leader of men.
“Virat is everywhere. He is hands on, and very communicative. That’s what you want in a captain. There is trust between the players and the captain, and that is the most important thing.”
Shastri has indeed found a right partner in Kohli, as the duo likes to be aggressive and express themsleves vocally, despite the crtics asking them to behave the other way.
Umesh Yadav bowled a terrific last spell in the last session of the Freedom series, with figures of 6-6-0-3. Shastri praised the ‘Vidarbha Express’ and called him the ‘strong man’ in the team. Yadav bowled a beauty to get rid off Dane Vilas, the wicket that effectively opened the floodgates for India to get through.
Shastri compared that spell to some of the spells that world-class bowlers have been seen bowling against India. On Yadav’s new-ball partner, Ishant Sharma, he had similar words of praise. Calling Ishant India’s “most reliable fast bowler at the moment” and also praised his adaptibility to various conditions.
He also lauded Ravindra Jadeja, the man who made a comeback to the side, the coaches, Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar for their significant contributions to the team.