Ahead of the IPL 2020 Qualifier 1, Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan said Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma may have lost a bit of touch due to an injury-forced absence and his team would look to take advantage of it.
Notably, Rohit returned to action against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday (November 3) after missing the last four games for MI in the ongoing IPL due to a left hamstring injury.
"Rohit is a very good player, and he hasn't played many matches so I am not sure about his touch, and that means that we can definitely take advantage of it," Dhawan said on the eve of first qualifier, as quoted by PTI.
"My best wishes to him, but yes as opponents, we can take advantage of that for sure and make plans accordingly."
While Rohit has been left out of the upcoming Australia tour on fitness grounds, his long-time national team opening partner wants to carry on with his stellar IPL run when he takes strike Down Under.
"Once you have got good scores, you want to carry that to the next series. I love playing in Australia. It's a great place to play cricket. The pitches are good and I enjoy playing their bowling," Dhawan, who has scored 525 runs in 14 IPL innings so far, said.
"It will be a special series as Indian team will be playing after a long time. I want to showcase my class," he added.
Dhawan also showered rich praise on Ajinkya Rahane, who calmly anchored the successful chase against RCB in DC’s last league fixture.
"Ajinkya brings in a lot of stability. That sort of an experience gives an edge to the side and I can play more freely."
Asked if this is his best season considering the number of runs he scored in UAE, the southpaw replied: "This is not the first time I have scored 500 runs in IPL. I have been scoring nearly 500 runs for the past few seasons (521 in 2019, 497 in 2018, 479 in 2017, 501 in 2016). Yes, this is the first season I have had two hundreds and two ducks, which is something new."
Dhawan reserved special praise for Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting.
"Having Ricky as coach is a huge advantage. He always backs us with everything, and gives us clarity in difficult situations.
"He is always ready for open chats he would ask for feedback about the coaching staff also to get the best out of the team. So he's got great communication with all of us not just the playing XI, but everyone, and he's been really fantastic for us."
Delhi might have suffered defeats at the hands of Mumbai Indians in both the league matches, but Dhawan doesn’t consider the defending champions as favourites to win Qualifier 1.
"I don't think they have an upper hand. We have got a quality team and we know we can beat any team.
"We just have to play good cricket and have to be very clear with our plans. I believe if we manage to do that, we can certainly win," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
