Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif hailed Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan as the “Khalifa” Of the Indian Premier League. The southpaw is looking in phenomenal touch with the bat for Punjab. He is leading his team from the front in the best possible way.
In Mohali, Punjab Kings will play the reigning IPL champions Gujarat Titans in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday. Speaking ahead of their clash against Gujarat Titans, Mohammad Kaif lauded the Punjab Kings’ bowling unit as one of the best bowling units in the league. He also predicted that they would make it to the playoffs in IPL 2023.
“Punjab Kings’ bowling is good. The team that has a good bowling unit has a better chance of finishing in the top four in the IPL” Mohammad Kaif said on Star Sports.
Mohammad Kaif was full of praise for the Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan for his phenomenal and well-composed batting so far in the league stage. Dhawan recently played an outstanding knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad as he was the lone warrior for his side scoring an unbeaten 99 off just 66 balls.
“Shikhar Dhawan is the Khalifa of the IPL. He is in form and leading his team by example. These conditions have further boosted the chances of his team going a long way this season,” Kaif added
Dhawan currently holds the ‘Orange Cap’ being the highest run-getter in the league with 225 runs from 3 games. He was dismissed only once in the tournament and will look to contribute to the team’s success in the best way possible.
Shikhar Dhawan fell out of favour with the Indian team, due to his poor form and the emergence of Shubman Gill as an all-format opener for India. Dhawan last turned out for India during their tour of Bangladesh where he scored only 18 runs in three matches.
Shikhar Dhawan Is A World-Class Batter – David Hussey
Former Australian batter David Hussey praised Punjab Kings for their strategy and lauded their skipper Shikhar Dhawan for pacing his innings well. With two wins and a loss in three games, PBKS is placed sixth with four points.
“Punjab Kings’ strategy looks simple in IPL i.e. to bat around Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan has paced his innings brilliantly in the tournament, he’s a world-class batter,” David Hussey added.
Punjab Kings’ batters who had a poor outing with the bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to turn things around when they take on defending Champions Gujarat Titans on Thursday. The PBKS batting will be boosted by the return of hard-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone.