Dropped from India's ICC T20 World Cup squad, veteran batsman and Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan gave a gentle reminder to his critics on Wednesday with his 37-ball 42 during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 match against his former franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Dubai International. En route to the knock, Dhawan took the second spot in an elusive IPL list.
Dhawan became the first batsman this season to reach 400 runs. He has now amassed 413 runs in nine matches at 59 with a strike rate of 132.37, laced with two half-centuries.
Dhawan has now reached the 400-figure mark in six consecutive IPL seasons starting 2016, the year he won the trophy with SRH. Overall, he has scored 400 or more runs eight times in his IPL career, surpassing Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, and David Warner to take the second spot on the elusive list which features Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina on top with nine such scores.
Dhawan's highest run tally in a season came in 2020 when he scored 618 runs in 17 games at 44.14 at a strike rate of 144.73. The tally brought him in the reckoning for a spot in the World T20 squad for India. However, he was eventually dropped with the selectors opting for a more dynamic left-handed option in Ishan Kishan. Rohit and KL Rahul are the other opening choices for India in the World Cup.
Dhawan's 42 came in reply to SRH's total of 134 for nine. Kagiso Rabada picked three while Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel picked two each to restrict SRH to a low total.
