IPL 2018 | Sunrisers Hyderabad are ‘handicapped’ by the loss of Shikhar Dhawan, feels Sunil Gavaskar

04/24/2018

Sunil Gavaskar believes that the loss of Shikhar Dhawan has been one of the main reasons for the Hyderabad's two-match losing streak and feels that the team has been ‘handicapped’ without him. Gavaskar also sees Sunrisers Hyderabad having one-match wonders as a major hurdle in their rise.

After losing the first three games of the season, Mumbai Indians saw off Royal Challengers Bangalore in convincing fashion, but that was again undone as they were handed a fourth loss in five games this season by Rajasthan Royals. On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad, after a flying start, are on a two game losing streak which makes Mumbai's home again against the Sunrisers a must-win game for both sides.

“Both Mumbai Indians and the Sunrisers Hyderabad will be desperately looking to find the winning rhythm when they clash in Mumbai. Both have lost games by narrow margins and while that is usually expected in the T20 format, when it happens regularly then there is a need to look at why it’s happening,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI.

Shikhar Dhawan has been an important part of SRH for quite a while now and along with David Warner was one of the main reasons for the franchise's success in recent times. He, more often than not, gets Hyderabad off to flying starts and holds them together throughout the innings. However, after Warner's role in the side was relegated to that of a spectator due to his part in the Sand-paper gate scandal, the onus was on Dhawan to deliver the goods for his side. And the Indian opener did just that with scores of 78* and 45 in the first two matches of the league. However, Dhawan suffered a hit on his elbow in the match against CSK and still, is in question to play the match against Mumbai Indians. Gavaskar felt that Shikhar Dhawan’s absence at the top has made the team ‘handicapped’.

“Hyderabad are handicapped by the loss of their dynamic opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander invariably gets the team off to a flying start but more crucially he stays for the major part of the innings and keeps the momentum going and takes a heavy load on himself,” he wrote.

Gavaskar appreciated Williamson’s knock in the last match and felt that there was lack of support from the other end. Giving his insights on SRH, he stated that the problem with the team is that they have one-match wonders, who do not assist much and cannot expect seniors to bail them out every time.

“Their skipper Kane Williamson played a truly brilliant innings against the Chennai Super Kings but was unable to find support from the others. The problem with their team is that they have one match wonders who keep their places for the next year even as they do precious little in between. It’s hard to expect the seniors to pull the team out of trouble always,” said the former Indian captain.

Gavaskar stated that to ease the pressure on Dhawan and Williamson, Manish Pandey has to come to the party as well.

“With David Warner also unavailable, the pressure on Dhawan and Williamson is just too much. If Manish Pandey, who is a superb player, can strike form then the pressure will ease considerably,” he added

He pointed out that Mumbai bowlers have not been performing well consistently; there have been bursts of good spells, but nothing consistent. He also praised young Mayank Markhande, but feels that teams have started to pick him.

“Mumbai are struggling mainly because their bowlers have not quite delivered. Bumrah bowled an inspired second spell against Rajasthan Royals and Hardik Pandya also came up with wickets that almost turned the game Mumbai’s way. Young Markande is bowling well but other teams have studied him well,” said Gavaskar.

IPL 2018 | Sunrisers Hyderabad are ‘handicapped’ by the loss of Shikhar Dhawan, feels Sunil Gavaskar

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