India’s flamboyant opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has left Sunrisers Hyderabad and will become a part of Delhi Daredevils’ squad from IPL 2019. The left-hander was apparently unhappy with the price he was bought at in the last year’s auction.

SRH had retained Kane Williamson and Bhuvneshwar Kumar before the auction and then retained Shikhar Dhawan using the RTM card for a bid of INR 5.2 crores. Dhawan has been traded to DD in exchange for 3 players. SRH will get Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma and Vijay Shankar in exchange for Dhawan.

He had played for Daredevils in 2008 which was the inaugural edition of the IPL. He was picked by Mumbai Indians in the next season post which he has been an integral part of the SRH squad.

The Daredevils welcomed the opener with a tweet that read, “Brace yourselves, for he has returned, where it all began. Welcome Home, Shikhar Dhawan.”

https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils/status/1059355975453425664

On the other hand, SRH also released a statement on Twitter where they confirmed the release of the 32-year-old citing financial reasons.

We have traded Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Daredevils for Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma. We thank Shikhar for his contribution to the team over the years and wish him the very best. pic.twitter.com/oEqwJ61yw1 — SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) November 5, 2018

“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 the 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,” the SRH statement read.

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