IPL 2022: Dhawan is a game changer: Pietersen

Shikhar Dhawan has been impressive for PBKS in IPL 2022.

Bengaluru, April 29: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen lavished praise on Punjab Kings (PBKS) opener saying the left-hander is among those players who can make the best of deliveries look ordinary with their elegant batting as is evident in Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Dhawan, who is only the second batter to amass 6,000 runs in IPL history, is doing exceedingly well for his team in IPL 2022 season and giving PBKS good starts.

"Best players, no matter where you're bowling (to them), make some of the best deliveries look ordinary. That's something which some of the best batters have, and he's one of those guys. He has that (extra) time, that skill and that orthodox nature whereby it doesn't even look that he's hitting the ball hard," Pietersen said on the Cricket Live show in Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2022.

The PBKS, who are led by Mayank Agarwal, will take on the KL Rahul-led Gujarat Super Titans in Match 42 of IPL 2022 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday (April 29).

And former India coach Ravi Shastri believes Dhawan deserves all the accolades coming his way.

"He deserves all the accolades he's getting. He's scored 6000 runs in IPL. He reads the conditions (very well), sees what the pitch has to offer, understands what his role is and he chooses the right bowlers to hit," Shastri said on the same show.

Both teams come into Match 42 at the MCA Stadium on the back of wins.

Mayank's PBKS are fresh from an impressive win over Chennai Super Kings, while Rahul-led LSG also head into the match on the back of a morale-boosting win over Mumbai Indians (MI).

This will be the two teams' first ever meeting in IPL and also LSG's first outing at the MCA Stadium, where PBKS has already played once this season, beating MI.

Kevin Pietersen is all praise for Shikhar Dhawan.

PBKS has so far won four and lost as many in their eight matches to gather eight points to occupy the sixth position in IPL 2022 points table.

On the other hand, LSG has won five and lost three to accumulate 10 points to sit in the fourth place.

IPL 2022 POINTS TABLE

Shastri added that while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have received a lot of attention with their batting, Dhawan has been a serious player among the two modern-day masters.

"I call him a gun player because in this country most of the accolades have gone to Rohit and Virat, but this man has been a serious player right between them when he's fit.

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has also lauded PBKS' batting approach in IPL 2022 as the team, which is full of power-hitters, is looking to build innings around Dhawan.

"Punjab Kings are the most explosive team in the powerplay this season and the reason behind it is Shikhar Dhawan's batting. Their approach has been very simple in IPL 2022 -- to build their innings around Dhawan, who's looking to bat deep. While Dhawan continues to play his natural game, the rest of the batsmen are providing that supporting act and looking to score aggressively in the death overs."

Watch the PBKS vs LSG pre-match show on Star Sports and Hotstar from 6.30pm. The match starts at 7.30pm IST.