VVS Laxman not happy with Dahwan's axing from Lord's Test

He stated that Dhawan’s approach to the game is very similar to that of Virender Sehwag as both their dismissals looked ugly

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman is not happy with the Indian team management’s decision of dropping Shikhar Dhawan from the Lord’s Test. The veteran felt that the decision was unfair as all other batsmen apart from Kohli had a poor show during the first Test at Edgbaston.

Laxman believes that Dhawan, irrespective of the conditions, backs himself to play positive shots and stay aggressive; the same reason why he keeps on edging the ball. He stated that Dhawan’s approach to the game is very similar to that of Virender Sehwag as both their dismissals looked ugly, but what is important is the difference he created and the time he spent on the field.

“Sehwag was that kind, whenever he got out it looked bad but that is also their strength that’s why I am really surprised. Why the axe has to fall on Shikhar Dhawan and not on the other batsmen. The numbers say that it is not only him who has been struggled since 2015 in overseas conditions. It’s all the top three or four (including Pujara),” Laxman further mentioned.  

Moreover, the current generation top-order Indian batsmen have a poor record when it comes to facing the moving ball. The batsmen not only struggled to get the bat to the ball, and whenever contact was made, more often the edge carried behind the stumps. The same scenario was witnessed during the 1st Test at Edgbaston.

 “Every batsman failed to bar Virat Kohli and if you compare KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Murli Vijay amongst the three, Dhawan looked the most confident, his footwork was precise. But probably he gets the axe because of the way he gets out. As a stroke player, you expect sometimes while playing shots you get out in a certain fashion,” Laxman trying to understand why Dhawan was dropped while talking on ESPNcricinfo.