Dhawan also lauded Prithvi Shaw and Ricky Ponting.
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan has been enjoying a great time with the bat in the ongoing 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021). The experienced Indian batsman is the orange cap holder in the ongoing tournament with 311 runs from seven innings at the moment.
After Delhi Capitals’ (DC) 7-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL 14 contest on Thursday (April 29) in Ahmedabad, Dhawan said he is enjoying taking smart risks and trying something new in the ongoing T20 league while hailing the DC head coach Ricky Ponting.
The left-hander scored 46 runs as well as added 132 runs for the opening stand with Prithvi Shaw who hit 41-ball 82 to help DC chase down the total 155 inside 16 overs against KKR on Thursday.
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Dhawan said, “I enjoy taking smart risks and trying something new as well rather than just sticking to the same process. When you take risks, you get reward and you get out as well, so I enjoy taking that risk.”
Hailing Ponting and his coaching style, the 34-year-old said he really loves playing under the Australian legend and said the best part about him is that he keeps everyone together in the team.
He continued, “It's amazing; I enjoy playing under Ricky's coaching. He's a great coach; our team is a strong family. He keeps everyone together, all the boys in the squad, even the net bowlers, he makes sure he takes good care of them. That's a great sign and I really appreciate him for that.”
Dhawan also heaped praise on his young DC opening partner Shaw, saying: “Prithvi was playing amazing, was lovely to watch it from the other end. We were getting so many runs, I didn't think of taking too many risks and played according to the game situation. I don't have to compare, I just have to play my role according to the situation and that's what I did.”
He signed off by saying, “I made a conscious effort to bring up my strike-rate because I knew that this game needed that, and me as an opener had to take those risks. At the same time, smart enough to know when to take risks and when not to. Like today, there was no need for me to take any risk, Prithvi was playing totally on a different level. It was lovely to watch him as well.”
(With ANI Inputs)