England vs India: Sourav Ganguly advices Shikhar Dhawan to scrap one of his favourite shots

The Indian team are certain to make a few changes to their line-up in the third Test which is a must-win game for them. While Rishabh Pant looks set to make his Test debut, Jasprit Bumrah will most likely replace Kuldeep Yadav. There will also be a temptation to bring back Shikhar Dhawan who was dropped at Lord’s. But the move didn’t solve the top-order conundrum at all. However, Sourav Ganguly feels that the flamboyant left-hander needs to scrap his big cover drive if he wants to be successful in swinging conditions.

Dhawan is not having a great time on this tour. He failed to post a big score in the limited-overs leg as well and didn’t impress at Edgbaston which forced the team management to drop him. It will be interesting to see if he will be included in the must-win encounter for the visitors. Moreover, the stylish player will have to take his catches as well which affected India’s chances in the series opener.

He needs mental discipline

Sourav Ganguly, in his column for the Times of India, was of the opinion that Shikhar Dhawan needs to control himself from playing cover drives due to which he’s been getting caught in the slips overseas more often than not. He also suggested playing on the back foot as much as possible before getting adjusted to the conditions and the pitch on offer.

There is a chance that Dhawan might play and if he does, the big booming cover drives have to be put away. He needs mental discipline to play other shots which he is capable of and play much more on the back foot,” he wrote while also stressing that one of the openers need to counterattack to put the bowlers in the defensive mindset. The 46-year-old also believed that the visitors are capable of beating England in their den.

“India will need a good start at the top which has not happened yet. Whether a Dhawan instead of Vijay will help them to counter-attack is another question, but whoever is entrusted with the job will need to stand tall. Can the Indians fight back? The worry is they have succumbed to the fact that it will be tough. Yes, it will be tough but not impossible. The mind has to believe that,” he added.

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