Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, whom his batting partner Rohit Sharma had jokingly accused of not expressing much joy while facing fast bowlers, denied Rohit’s claims and said he never shied away from facing the pacers.
“He’s an idiot, what can I say. He doesn’t like to face the first ball. He likes to take on the spinners, but he does not like to take on the fast bowlers,” Rohit had said during a Live session on Instagram with Australian opener David Warner.
“No, no I disagree to that. It’s not like I don’t want to face fast bowlers. Everyone has their views, I am an opening batsman. I have done that role for India for eight years now, so obviously I play the fast bowlers,” Dhawan said during an Instagram live session with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Wednesday.
“If I do not face them in the first over, then I eventually do in the second over,” he added.
Rohit had also claimed that Dhawan never faced the opening delivery of the innings and replying to that, Dhawan admitted his unwillingness to start the innings but said that if he was batting with any youngster he would always take that responsibility.
“Yes, I do not like taking strike on the first ball of the match and I am honest about it but if any youngster like Prithvi (Shaw) comes in the side and he is not comfortable taking the first ball then obviously I would take the strike.
“But with Rohit, it started in Champions Trophy where I told him to take the strike and that sort of continued as I don’t like to change things much,” the left-handed batsman said.