'At times even Virat': Bhogle's opinion on Shikhar Dhawan becomes hot topic on Twitter

Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan led his team from the front against Rajasthan Royals, to clinch a five-run victory in match no. 8 of Indian Premier League 2023 on Wednesday. The 37-year-old remained unbeaten after scoring 80 runs in 56 balls, lifting PBKS to a total of 197/4. While Nathan Ellis’ four-wicket haul restricted RR to 192/7, Shikhar Dhawan came under the scanner for his initial strike rate during the game.

Indian cricket pundit Harsha Bhogle was one of the biggest names in the cricketing community to share his reaction to Dhawan’s knock. The renowned broadcaster took to his official Twitter handle on Wednesday night and said Dhawan’s innings should raise the question about batsmen playing the anchor’s role. He supported his words by providing examples of players like KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler.

"The 30 balls at run-a-ball can hurt"

“Shikhar Dhawan's innings will raise, should raise, the question of whether you can have an anchor batter, especially in these conditions. You can appear to have increased your strike rate by the end, but the 30 balls at run-a-ball can hurt,” tweeted Bhogle. Further explaining his thoughts, Bhogle said, “This topic is not specific to Shikhar today. We have been talking about it over the last 2-3 years; about fine players like KL Rahul, Babar Azam, at times even Virat Kohli & Jos Buttler. My view is that in a 150-160 game, you might consider that role but not in a 180-190 game”.

Bhogle’s tweet was quick to go viral among cricket fans in India, who were divided about Bhogle’s opinion. The Punjab Kings captain scored the first 30 runs of his knock in 30 balls, before accelerating and completing his half-century in 36 balls. He then added 36 more runs in the next 20 balls and remained not out. While, his knock included a total of nine fours and three sixes, the veteran opener had registered only six fours and a six when he reached his fifty.

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IPL 2023, RR vs PBKS: Harsha Bhogle's remarks on Shikhar Dhawan divides opinions

This issue is why India have been useless in the crunch games in every major ICC tournament in recent years (like for over a decade)

— deNoronha (@deNoronhaUK) April 5, 2023

What do you mean "even Virat Kohli"? He literally plays 50(40) sort of knocks 90% of the time time. But yeah you can't say that, cause you'll lose your job if you criticize supreme leader Kohli. Pathetic.

— Kartik Nema (@knm_89_) April 6, 2023

No one raised an eyebrow when KL played the same role for 3 seasons🙂🙂

— Unsung Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ASHDKP) April 5, 2023

Excellent innings from #ShikharDhawan... A highly underrated cricketer & one of the best in the last decade along with Kohli & Rohit in white ball cricket... Doesn't deserve this selective criticism... #PBKSvsRR #IPL23

— Dr Praveen Kumar (@Fertilitydocpk) April 5, 2023

Absolutely right ✅️. This is the main reason behind India's debacle in the recently concluded T20i world cup where Indian Team management was trying to Accommodate both Rahul & Kohli despite eating up a lot of deliveries in the power play overs. .. it cost India World Cup..

— Devender Kumar (@asdevender_bbc) April 5, 2023