Harbhajan Singh was all praise for this veteran India batter, saying he is “as young as Ishan Kishan”.
Shikhar Dhawan was one of the few bright spots in India’s disappointing ODI series loss in South Africa that ended last week. Making his return to the Indian team, Dhawan posted knocks of 79, 29 and 61 to finish as the team’s highest scorer in the three-match series with a total of 169 runs. Dhawan scored at an average of 56.33 and a strike rate of 86.66. He, however, couldn’t prevent South Africa from sweeping the series 3-0. According to Indian spin great Harbhajan Singh, Dhawan’s high fitness levels mean he should remain a part of the national team set-up going forward.
“I was very happy when Shikhar Dhawan made a comeback. The reason is that he is a seasoned player and if you are comparing him with other players, saying that the other players are young, then which player is batting at a level that Shikhar Dhawan isn’t? So I am so happy to see Shikhar Dhawan back,” Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
“As soon as he returned, he hit two fifties. India lost the matches there but he did his job. I don’t understand why people look at the ages of some players but not at others’. There were some players who were playing the World Cup at 38, 39, 40 years of age,” he added.
“Now Shikhar Dhawan at 37 years (36 years) is as young as (Ishan) Kishan is I think. His fitness is very good. If you say that at 37 years of age he can’t make a comeback, then I think it will be wrong. I am so happy that he made a comeback and he showed how much is left in him.”