Indian cricket team opener Rohit Sharma says Shikhar Dhawan is annoying to bat with

Indian cricket team opener Rohit Sharma trolled his batting partner Shikhar Dhawan, stating that the latter rarely likes to take strike when opening the batting. In fact, the current Indian cricket team limited-overs vice-captain also narrated an anecdote of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, where the pair lined up against South Africa in the Men In Blue’s first encounter.

In an Instagram Live session with David Warner, Indian cricket team batsman Rohit Sharma opened up on that incident and also chatted about how Shikhar Dhawan is ‘irritating’ to bat with.

“Shikhar never likes to play the first ball. I remember we opened together against South Africa in the Champions Trophy and I asked him if he could face the first ball, considering I was just playing my second match as opener. He told me that this was his first tour and that he just couldn’t do it. I faced Morne Morkel first up and I literally couldn’t see the ball for the first three balls. Sometimes, he is very annoying also. I tell him the plan that we need to execute against a bowler and then suddenly after five seconds, he will ask me what I said,” Rohit jovially remarked.

However, Rohit Sharma was also quick to point out the qualities Shikhar Dhawan brings to the fore, mentioning that it allowed the former the requisite time to settle himself before going after the bowlers.

“I love batting with him because he takes on the new ball and that allows me to take time to settle myself. It makes my job easier when batting, although he is a little irritating,” Rohit elaborated.

Shikhar Dhawan

The Indian cricket team opener also highlighted Dhawan’s propensity to pierce the field on the off-side and how the left-hander specialized in getting the Indian cricket team off to a brisk start in the PowerPlay.

Rohit and Shikhar are the 2nd most successful Indian cricket team opening pair

Over the past few years, the Indian cricket team pair has established itself as one of the premier opening partnerships across the globe. To put things into perspective, the duo has put on 4802 runs while batting together in 107 ODI innings for the Indian cricket team.

Out of those, they’ve gotten the Indian cricket team off to wonderful starts on numerous occasions, which include 16 century stands and 14 fifty-run partnerships. So far, the highest partnership Rohit and Shikhar have conjured for the Indian cricket team is a 210-run stand, with that coming against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in 2018.

Additionally, the pair is the second most successful Indian opening partnership ever, whereas they are statistically the 4th best ever in the world.