I Would Love To Be An Impact Player For DC: Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan, Indian and Delhi Capitals opener, has said that he would like to play the role of an impact player for his franchise in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League

The 34-year-old is looking forward to giving his team a fiery start in the powerplay before settling down to anchor the innings and bat for as long as possible. Dhawan likened his approach to the one he generally adopts while batting with fellow Indian opener Rohit Sharma in One-day cricket.

According to Dhawan, while it is important to give fiery starts at the top of the order, one needs to maintain a balance in order to ensure that the team does not lose too many wickets in the first six overs.

“In IPL, we have to give a fiery start. And then the person who is set takes the game further. I would love to be an impact player, create momentum for my team. For 5-6 overs mostly I am the aggressor for India too; Rohit (Sharma) takes his time and then plays. I am talking about ODIs here.” Shikhar Dhawan told Hindustan Times.

“(In T20) you get 6-7 balls to settle. Sometimes it depends on what the team role is, if the team wants 50 runs from 6 overs…everyday it’s not the same thing, but mostly you have to fire from both ends and that’s the best thing. And at the same time be smart enough not to lose too many wickets.” he added.

Also Read- IPL 2020: Shreyas Iyer Feels Proud To Lead The Delhi Capitals

‘I enjoy working with Ricky Ponting- Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan also heaped high praise on former Australian skipper and the current head coach of the Delhi Capitals, Ricky Ponting, adding that he enjoys working with Punter.

The southpaw also revealed that Ponting had advised him to keep his body language strong and it is something that he has worked on and has benefitted from it.

“He is a great coach and I enjoy working with him. He told me, keep your body language stronger and I worked on it and it has helped me. We (players) are mindful of the need to do specific things so that we improve.” he said.

Shikhar Dhawan, along with Prithvi Shaw will be once again primed with the task of giving Delhi Capitals tearaway starts at the top of the order. The southpaw was brilliant in IPL 2019, where he ended up scoring 521 runs at an average of 34.73 and a strike-rate of 135.67, including five 50-plus scores.