AGENCIES, New Delhi: Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan didn’t have 2019 exactly as a smooth sailing year as he suffered multiple injuries which kept him out of action for several games.
First, it was the finger injury against Australia that ruled him out of the World Cup in 2019. He recovered in time for the series against West Indies in the Caribbean and the United States. However, as he was preparing for another series against West Indies, a deep gash to his knee while trying to dive during a Syed Mushtaq Ali game force retired him for over a month.
As a result, Dhawan missed the three-match ODI and T20I series and things almost jeopardised his spot in the Playing XI. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul saved the day at the top of the order in his absence and things seemed gloomy for the left-hander. But, Rohit resting for the T20I series against Sri Lanka meant that there was an opening for the Delhi cricketer.
The team management showed enough faith in him for the ODI series against Australia. They even decided to slot KL Rahul down to order to accommodate Shikhar in the eleven. He regained the team management’s confidence with scores of 74 and 96 in the first two games. But in the third ODI, he injured his shoulder while trying to dive and sustained a Grade-II injury. Thus, he was once again ruled out for the ODI and the T20I series against New Zealand.
However, the cricketer has taken it to the social media to inform his fans that he is back. He even shared an edited dialogue from the movie ‘Sholay’ as he was seen sitting on a horse. “Kitne bowler they? #Gabbar is back,” he wrote.
Shikhar Dhawan might make a comeback to the Indian team for the ODIs against South Africa. The team is currently in New Zealand and the tour will come to an end with the second Test that will end on March 4. Starting from March 12, the side will play the Proteas in a three-match series. Then, the cricketer will represent the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL.
Dhawan shared an edited dialogue from the movie ‘Sholay’ — “Kitne bowler they? #Gabbar is back.