IPL 2019: Local boy Shikhar Dhawan posts special tweet before heading to Delhi Capitals

For Shikhar Dhawan, it’s a transition phase in his cricketing career. While the dashing opening batsman has been known to be a Test discard which enables him to give his best in the limited-over formats, he is also set to return to home state franchise Delhi Capitals from Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning in March.

Dhawan, who turned 33 on December 5, is looking forward to playing for the Capitals in IPL 12 and he posted a tweet addressed to his new franchise where he is making a comeback after 11 years. The Delhi batsman had appeared for the Capitals, formerly known as Daredevils, in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008 and had a fair outing with 340 runs in 14 matches at an average of almost 38.

As they say, change is the only constant. Can't wait to play for Delhi again. @DelhiCapitals coming your way!#ipl2019 #delhicapitals pic.twitter.com/o3Qr9d7GDZ

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) December 6, 2018

The left-hand batsman, who played in the recent T20I series against Australia Down Under and will return there for the ODI series next month, has always been a consistent performer in the IPL, irrespective of the team he has represented. Barring the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Dhawan has never scored less than 300 runs in an IPL edition and was in a good form in the 2018 edition in which he scored four half-centuries for the Sunrisers with the highest score of 92 not out.

In 143 matches in IPL, Dhawan has amassed 4,058 runs (fifth highest overall) at an average of 33-plus and strike rate of above 123. He has slammed 32 half centuries in the tournament.

Dhawan was “unsettled” in Sunrisers

Dhawan, who has over 8,000 runs in international cricket and proved himself to be a better force in the limited-over formats with 15 centuries and 34 fifties, was released by the Sunrisers ahead of the December 19 auction. The cricketer, who was said to be “unsettled with the amount he was bought for in the auction”, was traded with three players from Capitals – Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma and Vijay Shankar.

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