‘Shikhar says so, and he does it’: Suresh Raina lauds Dhawan’s performance in IPL 2020

Suresh Raina said Dhawan is one of those players who would look confident heading into a match and would back it more often than not.

With 618 runs, Delhi Capitals batsman Shikhar Dhawan had an IPL season to cherish. The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League was Dhawan’s best IPL season, overtaking his tally of 569 runs back in 2012. Dhawan hit four half-centuries for the Capitals, proving to be a crucial factor in the team’s road to the final.

Dhawan’s former India teammate Suresh Raina may have given the IPL 2020 a miss but did not miss out on the action. On a recent episode of the hit ‘Kapil Sharma Show’, Raina, who along with his wife Priyanka, was a guest on the show, revealed that Dhawan is one of those players who would say ‘Look what your pal does’ before going into the match but to the batsman’s credit, backs it more often than not.

“Shikhar says it, and he does it. See what your pal does. He is ready. He is performing so well Scoring back-to-back hundreds is not easy. Earlier, he’s gotten out on 90, 97, 99, but this year scoring two centuries, I mean… he’s a good man,” Raina said.

Dhawan became the first and only player to hit consecutive IPL centuries. Against Chennai Super Kings, Dhawan guided DC home with a fabulous maiden hundred and followed it with a second three-figure score in the next game against Kings XI Punjab, where he took just 57 balls to reach the landmark.

Overall, Dhawan is fifth player to score multiple tons in a single season with Kohli (4 in 2016 season for RCB), Chris Gayle (2 in 2011 season for RCB), Hashim Amla (2 in 2017 season for KXIP) and Shane Watson in 2018 season for CSK, being the other four. During the innings against KXIP, Dhawan joined the prestigious 5000-run club in the IPL.