Abu Dhabi: Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Shikhar Dhawan is confident that he can regain form in the Indian Premier League season 7. Dhawan, whose team will be playing their opener against Rajasthan Royals today, ended on the bench during the World T20 in Bangladesh after struggling with the bat.
“IPL has always been a great platform for everyone to show their skills. This season will be really important for me to get back my form. I was already in form but I wasn’t scoring runs. I’m looking forward to scoring a lot of runs for my team and make my team win,” said Dhawan, who will be opening with Aaron Finch this season.
“Our team has sorted the opening combination and have chosen myself and Finch as openers with the left-hand, right-hand combination. It will be difficult for the bowlers to keep their line and length for two different batsmen. So, I think that is an advantage for us,” said Dhawan, who was confident that his team can go all the way until the end. “We have got a very complete side this year. We have got great bowlers — spinners, fast bowlers. We have Amit Mishra, who has been bowling really well and performed really well in the World Cup [for India[ and also Dale Steyn,” said Dhawan adding: “We also have Ishant Sharma. They have performed really well. We have a very good bowling unit and a batting unit. We have a great top three. I feel that we are going to have a great tournament.”
Dhawan went on to reveal that being in the company of IPL captains such as MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the India team has taught him how to rally his team.
“We are always preparing for our matches. But when we are on the field, I keep on learning from his [Dhoni] moves. Once you are in the team, you can read the game and see what the captain is doing. It is not like we just sit down and talk about captaincy.”
Dhawan was upbeat about the prospect of his bowlers exploiting the grass left on Abu Dhabi wickets.
“I saw the game last night [Wednesday] and the ball was doing a bit. There was a bit of extra bounce. It is good for us because we have the world’s best fast bowler [Dale Steyn[ and other good fast bowlers in the side. So, it will be a good contest,” said Dhawan, who is no mood to cut down on his shots despite being criticised heavily for throwing away his wicket cheaply after getting starts.
“I’m going to play all my shots. It depends on the day, how you feel at the crease. Sometimes you start off really great, sometimes you take a bit of time. So, it depends on that particular day and what the situation is,” revealed Dhawan, adding: “If I’m struggling or not scoring runs in one particular area, then I keep on working on those things. But it does take time. Things don’t happen overnight. Of course, I have been improving as a player. Personally I feel like when you have a low phase, you learn a lot more than when you were at your peak. I’ve become a more mature player and looking forward to the game on Friday.”
