As A Leader My Idea Is To Keep Everyone Happy And Together: Shikhar Dhawan

Stand-in skipper for the upcoming white-ball assignment in Sri Lanka, Shikhar Dhawan, has said that it is a big achievement for him to lead his country at the international level.

With regular skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma unavailable due to their involvement in the English Test summer, Shikhar Dhawan was named as the captain of the second-string Indian team for the Sri Lankan tour.

The white-ball assignment in Sri Lanka will kick off from July 18 and for Dhawan, his role as skipper will be to keep the side together and create a healthy environment within the set-up

“It is a big achievement for me that I have become the captain of the Indian side. As a leader, my idea is to keep everyone together and happy ? that is the most important thing,” Shikhar Dhawan said on Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’

“We have got a lovely bunch of boys, great support staff, and we have worked earlier as well,” he added.

‘I have a good relation with Rahul Bhai’- Shikhar Dhawan

While Dhawan will make his debut as Team India skipper, Rahul Dravid will get his first taste of coaching an international team.

Shikhar Dhawan reckoned that he enjoys a good relationship with the legendary Dravid and he is confident that the duo will sync in unison during the ODI and T20I rubber.

“I have a good relation with Rahul Bhai. When I started playing Ranji Trophy, I played against him, and I have known him since then. When I went to play India A match, I was the captain, and he was the coach, so there was interaction,” said Dhawan.

“When he became the director of NCA, we used to go there for around 20 days, so we had a lot of interaction, and now we have good chemistry. And now that we have the chance to play six matches together, so it will be great fun, and I think we all sync nicely,” he added.

With the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad getting a maiden call-up to the national team, Dhawan is happy to see the dream of youngsters come true.

“Happy to get the youngsters in the team and see their dreams come true. It’s a big thing that these youngsters have come from their respective home towns with certain dreams, and their dreams are getting fulfilled,” said Dhawan.

“And now, they should enjoy the journey which landed them in team India, and they should know the value of their strength and how to improve it,” he said.

The first ODI of the three-match series between India and Sri Lanka will take place in Colombo on July 18.

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