The Indian former cricketer Shikhar Dhawan speaks about his form, the T20 World Cup and the experiences of opening batting with Rohit Sharma. He admitted there were a few differences between the captaincy styles of opener Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli in his recent Hindustan Times’ interview.
“It’s all about destiny I guess. I never prepare differently for an ICC tournament but it just so happens that I score big. See I have certain roles in the T20I side. I have been practicing hard in trying to perform that. Hopefully, by the time T20 World Cup comes, everything falls into place,” Dhawan says.
He adds, “I don’t think there are issues in T20Is. If you observe, I have been scoring well in the last few matches against South Africa and Bangladesh. Yes, I was a bit slow in the Delhi T20I. But that’s because I tried to bat differently because of the pitch. I know, 50 off 43 balls would have been a lot better than the 40 odd I got but yeah, I learned. ”
Dhawan has been criticized for scoring 41runs in 43 balls against Bangladesh in the first T20I. After that, he scored 31 and 19 in Rajkot and Nagpur, respectively.
“Yes, we had a plan to go hard in the first six overs. We knew if we could get 50-60 runs in the first six that will make the job easy for the middle order,” said the left-hand batsman.
Dhawan, sharing his experience of opening with Rohit Sharma, said, “Playing with Rohit for so many years has helped the bonding to grow automatically. We understand each other’s game very well. It’s in the auto mode now. After playing for so many years, you get a feeling of what to do in different situations. ”
When a reporter asked Dhawan about the differences he has been observed in between opener Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli. He said “They are different characters. In different situations, they make different choices. Whatever they feel right at one particular moment, they go with it. They, of course, discuss with each other. When Rohit is leading, he discusses with me, when Virat is leading he discusses with Rohit and me too.”
Dhawan made it clear that India has every chance of bringing the T20 World Cup home from Australia. He added, “We’ve got one year. Whatever we have to plan we are planning it now and then only we can reach the final combination. I am confident that this time we’ll come back with the cup.”
