Former England off-spinner Graeme Swann praised Punjab Kings' star opener Shikhar Dhawan in the ongoing IPL 2022, calling him 'Mr IPL' and added that the left-handed opener has started roaring with the bat for his new franchise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In Punjab's campaign till now in IPL 2022, Dhawan is the leading run-scorer with 197 runs in five matches at an average of 39.40 and strike-rate of 133.10. In their match against Mumbai Indians in Pune, Dhawan top-scored with a stroke-filled 70 and was involved in a 97-run opening stand with captain Mayank Agarwal to set the base for a 12-run win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Now, ahead of Sunday's afternoon match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at DY Patil Stadium, Dhawan is 19 runs away from becoming the second batter after Virat Kohli to reach the 6000-run mark in the history of IPL.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As of now, Dhawan has amassed 5,981 runs at an average of 34.97 and strike-rate of 126.85 in 197 IPL matches. He even holds the record for most fours hit in the history of the tournament with 673 fours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Clearly he's in a form of his life. I mean he's been playing a pink suit gear dog in the IPL. I mean he is Mr. IPL (for me) and I love watching every minute of him bat like that (when he's in his elements)," said Swann on Cricket Live show on Star Sports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lauding the wide range of shots the experienced Dhawan possesses in his repertoire, Swann claimed that people tuning in to IPL 2022 are seeing 'Vintage Dhawan' strokes from his bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"As soon as Shikhar Dhawan plays a shot over extra cover for a six early on in his innings, you know he's in for a good time. And these are some vintage Shikhar Dhawan shots. He's brilliant down the ground, brilliant over the square, that little ramp over the top, a flick to the leg side. He's amazing."<\/p>\r\n\r\n