Dhawan is likely to return to Daredevils for IPL 2019
The 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League will most likely see Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan return to the franchise from where he started his journey- Delhi Daredevils. As per a report by ESPN, Sunrisers Hyderabad are set to exchange Dhawan for three players- Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, and Shahbaz Nadeem. Dhawan wasn't happy with his contract at Sunrisers and decided to switch clubs.
Details of how the deal will go through
Delhi Daredevils will be releasing Shankar (Rs. 3.2 crore), left-arm spinner Nadeem (Rs. 3.2 crore) and Sharma (Rs. 55 lakh) to Hyderabad. Their combined value is Rs. 6.95 crore, which is more than the amount Sunrisers had paid for Dhawan (Rs. 5.2 crore) in last edition's auction. Thus, to complete the deal, the remaining amount will have to be paid separately by Hyderabad.
Why are Sunrisers releasing Dhawan?
Last edition, Sunrisers decided not to retain Dhawan ahead of the auction but then bought him back for an amount of Rs. 5.2 crore using the Right to Match option. However, the batsman was unhappy with his price tag, which forced Sunrisers to release him.
A quick glance at Dhawan's performance in the IPL
Dhawan has played a total of 143 matches in the IPL, scoring 4,058 runs at a strike-rate of 123.53. Dhawan also boasts of an average of 33.26 in the IPL. He has been SRH's second highest scorer in IPL, with 2,518 runs from 85 innings, averaging 34.49 at a strike-rate of 124.28. Dhawan played an important part, besides Warner, in Hyderabad's 2016 IPL win.
