Twitter
Advertisement

Shikhar Dhawan's backing out unsettled Indian dressing room, says Indian skipper MS Dhoni

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The Indian dressing room's calmness went for a toss much before the batsmen capitulated against Australia on Saturday, revealed skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and said the "unrest" caused by Shikhar Dhawan's backing off affected the team's performance in the lost second cricket Test here.

Dhawan had to delay resuming his overnight innings on Saturday after being hit on the wrist during a net session, forcing Virat Kohli to come in at a very short notice. The Indians collapsed to 224 in their second innings, leaving Australia to chase a paltry 128. The home side won by four wickets eventually.

"We thought Shikhar got a blow but he was good enough to bat but he was not. As you saw, he went into bat late. But with that kind of a scenario, there is a bit of unrest in the dressing room and the calmness of the dressing room goes for a toss. It was a bit late to verbally resolve the problem," Dhoni told mediapersons.

Dhoni said Kohli got less than 10 minutes to prepare himself before going out there in the middle. "It was quite late and we could only give maybe 5-10 minutes' notice to Virat that he would go in to bat. That's one area which we could have handled a bit better but it's something that we will have to take it in our stride. Dhoni then went on to narrate the entire incident that did create a bit of controversy on the day.

"We went to practice and the wicket wasn't good for it. A few of the batsmen batted and Shikhar got hit and left. After that, I had padded up and I went in. He (Shikhar) was a bit uncomfortable but he didn't react and say that he can't bat," Dhoni said. He went on, "Shikhar came back to the dressing room and Duncan and I were there. By that time, I had finished my batting and I found the wicket to be a bit uneven. But by the time we came back, it was quite close to the start of play. And there, we realised that Shikhar wasn't really 100% fit to go into bat."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement