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Can India overcome the Shikhar Dhawan conundrum?

India taking on Pakistan at the Champions Trophy is a concern. (Photo: AAP)
Roar Guru
16th January, 2016
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Another 300-plus score batting first, another defeat. That has been the story of the series for India and a series defeat looms large at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday unless they come up with a better showing.

Attempting to chase a target instead of setting one will be high on skipper MS Dhoni’s list of things to try out but even then there are areas in their batting that need improvement.

Shikhar Dhawan’s poor form at the top of the order is at the top of their priority list.

Since the start of the home series against South Africa last year, Dhawan’s scores across Tests and ODIs have read 23, 23, 13, 7, 60, 0, 0, 45*, 12, 39, 33 and 21 before these two failures against Australia when he scored 9 and 6.

That’s 301 runs at an average of 23.

The clamour to drop Shikhar from the line-up has, therefore, not been totally unexpected.

Neither has the support he has found from the skipper Dhoni and the team management. Dhoni, at the post-match press conference after the second ODI, said, “Shikhar is someone who loves to play his shots. If somebody plays shots from the very start, there will be periods when he won’t score runs. You can say it was a rash shot, but that’s the time you are supposed to back your stroke-players.”

Even during the Tests against South Africa last year, Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli was happy to lend support to his beleagured opening batsman.

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After another failure, when asked about Dhawan, Kohli said: “We have to be patient with someone like Shikhar because he is an impact player and we need to give him as much confidence as we can. When he gets going he will win you the game for sure.”

Till Shikhar gets a few runs, registers a big one however, the conundrum will continue to gnaw away at the fans.

What can the management do?

Never in ODI cricket has Shikhar batted anywhere but at the top of the order. Even in Tests he has never come out to bat lower but there was this one occasion in the 2014-15 Test series against Australia when an injured Shikhar returned to the crease at the number eight spot, and smashed a further 56 runs.

It was an obvious one-off and in a different format and can obviously not be used as a reference point but the option is worth considering.

That option is to bat Shikhar down at five as a finisher, swapping his position with Ajinkya Rahane, who is the only other opener in the squad.

Dhawan’s struggles over the past two series have been down to his issues against the pace bowlers. More often than not, they have been able to tie him down outside the off-stump and the extra bounce and movement, if any, has proved to be his nemesis.

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The lack of feet haven’t helped, an issue probably borne out of his lack of confidence, leading to Dhawan playing away from the body and often nicking it to the slips or the keeper. When confident, like he showed a few glimpses of in that tour T20 game against the Western Australia second string XI, the feet exhibit a much more positive movement for Shikhar.

Batting lower in the order, probably at the number five slot, will allow Dhawan the chance to play against the softer ball. The bounce will be less concerted and whatever little swing there would be on offer at the start of the innings would have gone missing.

But most vitally, it will allow Dhawan a chance to shore up the Indian middle-order which currently looks quite barren anyway.

Twice now, in as many games, India have struggled to get enough runs during the 31-40-over period, purportedly because of the lack of confidence that the top-order has in their middle.

If Dhawan was to be dropped from the XI, Ajinkya Rahane’s promotion to the top of the order will only punch another hole in that soft middle, especially when the Dhoni barely considers the other Dhawan, Himachal Pradesh’s Rishi, an all-rounder.

A quickfire 30-40, something that Manish Pandey failed to get at the Gabba, could well get Shikhar the confidence he needs to re-function the way he has when in rhythm.

Mind you, it was a tad unfair to expect Pandey to come good in such a situation anyway given he is more a top-four batsman and not a finisher in the mould of Suresh Raina. If Pandey gets himself a start, he has shown a capacity to come good towards the end in domestic cricket but that’s the key – he needs time to build his innings.

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What works against this move is obviously if Shikhar himself isn’t convinced about it. Sometimes, half the battle is won or lost there itself.

Rahul Dravid was a reluctant wicket-keeper in ODIs, but he understood the balance it brought to the side and took over that role. On the other hand, VVS Laxman tried his hand at opening the innings in Tests but was quick to realise he was better off fighting for a place in the middle and opted out.

Both these moves paid off for India.

So, even if the management consider such a left-field option, will Dhawan be up for it?

The other flip to it is the need to push Rahane up the order in that case. After the kind of batting he showed in the second ODI, scoring an 80-ball 89, it makes that promotion a hard call.

That said, if Shikhar were to be dropped from the team, Rahane will have to be promoted up to open the innings anyway.

Other than that, Shikhar has Dhoni’s support too, as was on display in the press conference.

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Is the move worth considering?

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