Asia Cup | Shikhar Dhawan admits to under performing in England
Shikhar Dhawan has admitted that he was not at his best during the recently concluded tour of England adding that his teammates performed better than him on English soil. Ahead of today’s final, Dhawan added that Bangladesh will pose a tough challenge for the high-flying Indian team in Dubai.
Shikhar Dhawan has been back to his best and looks unstoppable at the moment in the Asia Cup where he is scheduled to face off against Bangladesh in the final today. However, things were different a month ago as India found themselves fighting an uphill battle against England away from home in the five-match Test series. They ultimately suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Joe Root & Co and while Virat Kohli ended up as the tournament’s top-scorer, the rest of the Indian batting line-up put in a disappointing performance which led to the humiliating defeat.
And Dhawan was the first to admit that his performance was below expectations, but it was not for lack of trying from his point of view.
"I think it always helps when you perform well (irrespective of the form). Agar
"If you talk about the England Test, I did not do well but I gave it all. Others played better than me. I accept it. There is no shame in it. Then I came here to play white ball cricket, had different plans because of different conditions. Sometimes they (plans) work sometimes they don't," PTI quoted Dhawan saying.
Fast forward to September and it’s a different story altogether. Dhawan and stand-in captain Rohit Sharma have provided India solid starts all throughout the tournament and that is one of the reasons why they are still unbeaten. Dhawan has scored a total of 327 runs in the four matches that he was part of during the Asian showpiece. But the left-hander was cautious as he said that finalists’ Bangladesh were not to be taken lightly.Â
"Pakistan may be a bigger team on paper but Bangladesh played better cricket than them and are in the final again. They are always tough to beat, especially at home. They are showing by performances they have gotten so much better. They know how to play under pressure.
"They play fearlessly against big teams and you have to appreciate that. Having said that, it takes time (to win major events). For them reaching the final is