CLT20: Can Shikhar Dhawan be a good captain?

 

The stylish batsman Shikhar Dhawan would be seen leading the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Champions League T20, starting from Tuesday. It was obvious for Dhawan to replace Kumara Sangakkara who has opted to play for his Sri Lankan franchise, Kandurat Maroon in the tournament.

Dhawan has been given the responsibility even though the team was led by Aussie all-rounder, Cameron White in the last IPL. The south paw was the leading run-getter for Sunrisers in the 2013 Indian Premier League despite missing the early part of the tournament. He amassed 311 runs in 10 matches at an average of 38.87.

The CLT20 will see the likes of Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid leading their sides against the very best of the world. Dhawan who has already made his mark with his blistering batting, will now rub shoulders against them. Only if they play via the Qualifiers, that is.

Sunrisers will mostly depend on their pace attack led by the lethal Dale Steyn and Indian pacer Ishant Sharma. Not to forget, the spin wonder of last year’s IPL – Amit Mishra too will have the load to deliver the goods for his team.

It remains to be seen how far this team goes. Most importantly, we will get to see Indian cricket team’s new batting icon in an all new avatar!