Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is reportedly not happy with the scheme of the things at his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. The left-hander could well move across to a different team, and Mumbai Indians ranks right up there as one of the destinations.
As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, Dhawan has already expressed his desire to leave the franchise ahead of the 2019 season.
Dhawan, who was roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad, is bound by a three-year contract but has had an argument with head coach Tom Moody last season. Also, he is reportedly not very happy with his contract and the fact that his price tag was way below expectations last year at the mega IPL auctions last year.
Dhawan was bought back using the RTM
The left-hander wanted to be retained as the number 1 and 2 player by his side, but then he was not retained and instead was brought back using the right to match card for Rs 5.2 crore.
If this price tag is compared with top Indian players, it is significantly lower and this has irked Dhawan. Virat Kohli draws Rs 17 crore, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni were retained by Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings for Rs 15 crore respectively. Other marquee Indian players who were retained include Hardik Pandya (Rs 11 crore, MI), Suresh Raina (Rs 11 crore, CSK) and Rishabh Pant (Rs 8 crore, DD).
Also, Dhawan shares a good bond with Rohit Sharma and this could influence his decision to shift across to Mumbai Indians.
"That's right. If we get a couple of good players as a trade-off, we're open to it," a top Sunrisers official was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.
The IPL trading below, which is currently open, will close a week before the IPL auction which is scheduled around the third week of December. Mumbai Indians have already made the first move when they bought Quinton de Kock from Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2.8 crores.
With Evin Lewis already present as an opener, it would be interesting to see the roles the franchise chalks out for the different players.
