: Dhawan is still a force in 50 overs cricket; glad selectors have shown faith in him: Manjrekar #IndiaNEWS #Sports,Cricket New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes

Dhawan is still a force in 50 overs cricket; glad selectors have shown faith in him: Manjrekar #IndiaNEWS #Sports ,Cricket
New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that opener Shikhar Dhawan is still a force to be reckoned with in 50-over cricket and appreciated the selection committee for continuing to show faith in his abilities.
Though Dhawan has represented India in all formats of the game, he is now being largely seen as an ODI specialist who has got mastery over the format. With England being bowled out for 110 in the first ODI and Rohit Sharma going aggressive early on, it gave Dhawan time to find his groove, which he did so by remaining unbeaten on 31.
Shikhar Dhawan whos got only one format now that he can cling on but interestingly right through his career, from start to end, if you look at his performance in 50 overs cricket, its always been the best.
This is a format that suits him best and a format where hes been excellent. And Im so glad that selectors have shown faith in him and reminded themselves that Shikhar Dhawan is still a force in 50 overs cricket. So brilliant to see them at the top, said Manjrekar on the Sports Over The Top show on Sports18.
In Indias ten-wicket win over England at The Oval, the left-right duo of Dhawan and Sharma also became the second pair from the country (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly) and fourth overall to complete 5000 runs as a partnership in ODIs.
Asked about the importance of the Dhawan-Sharma partnership for India in ODIs, Manjrekar remarked, Im glad that Dhawan got this innings together and I hope he keeps on getting these kinds of innings together because Rohit Sharma will be around. Hes playing, you know, all the formats and the left-hand, right-hand combination at the top, I think ill be okay.
And if you look at Dhawans fitness, he doesnt look his age on the field and its something that he cares a lot about making sure that hes fit and fine and just pure batting. If you look at his performance in the domestic leagues although the T20 league, I think his batting has gone up like this, the graph has gone up with the age as well.
India will be hoping that Dhawan and Sharma form another memorable partnership in the second ODI at the Lords on Thursday to take an unassailable lead in the series.
IANS
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