U19 World Cup: Sachin Dhas, a gem India unearthed in Benoni

During his knock of 96 against South Africa, Sachin Dhas played a few sumptuous pull shots. The short-arm jabs against Riley Norton prompted former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop to compare him with Shubman Gill.

‘No one plays this shot (short-arm jabs) better than Shubman Gill but Sachin Dhas has been imperious as well,’ Bishop said in commentary.

Gill has developed the shot from his early years of playing on a cement pitch. But in Dhas’ case, it comes from the back-foot preference and an upright stance, the kind of game that comes when a batsman can trust the bounce. It has also been developed through throw-downs from his coach Sheikh Azhar and father Sanjay Dhas with an iron plate placed at the good-length area.

‘He was always good against pace and spin. We wanted to check whether he will be able to get on top of the bounce. Azhar bhai used to put a three feet-long and four- feet wide iron plate at the good-length area. We used to do throw-downs. The ball used to climb on him. He struggled for some time but perfected his game as time progressed,’ Sanjay tells The Indian Express.

Sanjay says the knock of 96 was much better than the century Sachin scored against Nepal.

‘South Africa’s pace attack was the best of the tournament. The match was gone, but for the way he batted with Uday. He showed composure but kept playing shots as well,’ says Sanjay.