Sunrisers Hyderabad have swapped Shikhar Dhawan with Delhi Daredevils in favour of three players – Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma. The official confirmation came on Monday (November 5) after weeks of speculation over the southpaw being unhappy at SRH.
SRH confirmed in the statement that the decision to trade Shikhar was best for both parties. “Sunrisers value the great contribution that Shikhar has made over years and is saddened that due to financial reasons, he feels it is time to move on,” the Sunrisers statement said.
The statement read, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce, that one of our long standing players, Shikhar Dhawan, will be moving to another franchise in 2019. The SunRisers were delighted to pick Shikhar up in the auction after using one of its RTM (right to match) cards earlier in the year. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that the player has been unsettled ever since with the amount he was bought for in the auction, which unfortunately we cannot rectify due to IPL rules.”
“The franchise has made the decision to trade Shikhar as they feel it is best for both parties. SunRisers value great contribution that Shikhar has made over the years, and saddened that due to financial reasons, he feels it’s time to move on. We wish him and his family all the best.”
Welcoming the addition of Dhawan to the team, Parth Jindal, Director- Delhi Daredevils, said: “We are thrilled at the prospect of having Shikhar turn up in DD colours for the next season of the IPL. Shikhar has had a hugely successful IPL career and will be an invaluable addition to team DD with the wealth of experience he brings. The Delhi fans love seeing their local boys in action and we’re sure they will get lots to cheer for this season with players of Shikhar’s caliber in the team.”
The southpaw has been a stalwart for Sunrisers having played 85 matches for the team. In that he scored 2518 runs at an average of 34.49. Such has been his dominance for Hyderabad, that his runs scored is only surpassed by David Warner — 2579.
