India opener Shikhar Dhawan said he was pumped after being included in the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy next month. Dhawan was picked as a first-choice opener along with Rohit Sharma, with Ajinkya Rahane providing back-up. The selectors reposed their faith in the left-hander, despite Dhawan not being in the best of nick with the national team.
Dhawan said his selection was a reward for his performances in the shorter formats of the game, including the 10th season of the Indian Premier League, where he is the second-highest run-scorer so far with 450 in 12 matches.
“I was obviously happy to see my name in the India squad for the Champions Trophy but more than that I felt it was a reward for my performances in the shorter formats and in the ongoing IPL,” Dhawan told iplt20.com. “If I keep performing well, I believe those performances won’t be ignored.
He added, “I want to perform and keep playing for India as long as I can. I am pumped up to play the Champions Trophy. I have some good memories of the tournament and I had a great one the last time we played there. But as of now I want to focus on the IPL and then switch to the preparations for the Champions Trophy. We will try to bring home the Champions Trophy.”
Dhawan set the stage alight in the Champions Trophy four years ago, scoring two centuries and a half-century, as India won the title. His form for the national team leading up to the 2017 edition hasn’t been the best, but Dhawan said that he did not let that affect his domestic performance this season.
“I know I didn’t have a great Test season, but going into the IPL I was relaxed,” he said. “I didn’t want to chase a tournament and play and work towards it. I knew I was doing my process well even when I wasn’t going through the best of times in Tests. I have not been among the runs for a long time now but I can’t let such things affect me.
“My hard work, dedication and love towards the game never diminished and I persisted with my processes. I was in good touch getting into the IPL with some good scores in the Deodhar Trophy and that gave me confidence going into the IPL. When the IPL started, I did get some decent scores and I wanted to stretch that good form going forward. I want this patch to continue going into the Champions Trophy as well.”
Match-winning knock
Dhawan celebrated his Champions Trophy selection by leading his Sunrisers Hyderabad team to a comfortable seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians on Monday. Dhawan shared a 91-run stand with Moises Henriques after losing his opening partner and captain David Warner early in their chase of 139. The Indian southpaw led his team across the finish line with an unbeaten 62 off just 46 balls.
“It is a great feeling to play a match-winning knock,” Dhawan said. “I really enjoyed my batting and I believe I played with a lot of maturity and responsibility. I knew David Warner had got out and Yuvraj Singh was injured. The onus was on me to take the team through and I am happy I finished the game for the team. The partnership between Henriques and myself was really important and I guess we won it because of that.”
Being a naturally aggressive batsman, Dhawan started off rather composedly after losing Warner early. With SRH’s target not being too steep, Dhawan said it wasn’t difficult to change his mindset and switch to a less attacking game mode.
“I had to change my game a bit,” he said. “I decided to negate the risk factor in the first six overs. Usually it is Warner and me who accelerate from both ends and cash in on the Powerplay. But after Warner’s dismissal I had to cut down on shots and make sure I didn’t give away my wicket.
“We knew the target was not that daunting and we could catch up later. So I played along and picked runs according to the merit of the ball. I am an attacking batsman but it wasn’t difficult to change my mindset and get into a less attacking game mode. I am used to it and I believe I have attained that control over my game with time and age. I know what needs to be done under a given situation.”
