Shikhar Dhawan also opened up about his captaincy for PBKS in the IPL 16.
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was recently named Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain for the upcoming IPL 2022, and he is looking forward to the opportunity. He is currently in New Zealand, gearing up to lead Team India in the three-match ODI series, starting on Friday (November 25) in Auckland.
Dhawan recently revealed that he would have never taken the captaincy of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had had informed him that he would only lead the side half of the games in IPL 2014, where he led the SRH to four wins, as he was discussing his captaincy plans for the PBKS in the IPL 2023.
Shikhar Dhawan told ESPNCricinfo: “I still feel that you should be given a full season of captaincy. If I had known that I was being given the captaincy for only half the season, I wouldn't have taken it...The difference now is that it's a new beginning. In the Indian team, I have been captain for three to four series, so there is a sort of brotherhood now.”
He added, “Everyone knows how things go on, and what to do, so there is a comfort level. I want to do the same at Punjab Kings so that we reach that comfort level as soon as we can. It always starts at the top. I already have a good bond with the boys. I am very, very positive that it will be an amazing journey.”
On the demands of captaincy job and concerns over his strike rate, Dhawan said: “Jobs come and go, no worries. Humne khaali haath aana hai, khaali haath hi jaana hai. Yeh sab toh yahin reh jaana hai [We come into the world empty-handed and leave empty-handed. All this just remains here].”
He signed off by saying, “I don't feel any fear about losing the job. [Just because] I'm the captain, I don't want to put that load on myself, saying "Okay, I have to do it this way or that way." I will just play the game based on our team goals, based on what the team demands, what it needs.”
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)