Umesh Yadav, Sunil Gavaskar, India vs Australia 2019
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The upcoming few months will be a busy period for Shikhar Dhawan and his other Indian teammates.  Just over a week later, Australia will come to India for a limited-overs tour. Following that the players will be playing in the Indian Premier League before flying out to England for all the important World Cup.

Australia’s tour of India will begin with a T20I on February 24. After the two T20Is, the five-match ODI series between Australia and India will begin on March 2 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium (Jamtha) in Nagpur will host the second ODI on the 5th.

Shikhar Dhawan Says No To Playing In Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Shikhar Dhawan (Credits: Getty)

The third ODI will take place at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on March 8. The Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali will host the penultimate ODI on the 10th. The series will conclude with the final ODI at the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on 13 March. Ten days days later, the Indian Premier League will start.

The players, nonetheless, will have a chance to stay in touch by playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 competitions. However, Dhawan has ruled out the possibility of playing in the tournament, saying that the players need break.

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There is not much time to the IPL after the Australia series. We need to take a breather as well. The body is not a machine and it needs an adequate amount of rest. Muscles will only get stronger when it gets time to recover, which you can do only in the off-season. Break is very important for both mind and heart, it is very important to be relaxed,” Shikhar Dhawan told CricketNext.

Shikhar Dhawan Says No To Playing In Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Shikhar Dhawan (Credits: Getty)

“I don’t want to tire myself out before the IPL. I want to peak at the right time. Even in my break, I’ll strategise very nicely — like I have comeback only today (Tuesday). Now I’ll take a couple of days’ break and then probably head off to NCA to train for a few days before the Australia series,” he added.

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