Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan, while lauding Rishabh Pant as a leader, said that youngster led the team in a calm and composed manner in his first match of IPL 2021 as captain and will only get better with time.
Rishabh Pant had a great start to his captaincy campaign as Delhi Capitals (DC) hammered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by seven wickets in their first match of IPL 14.
The 23-year-old was handed the leadership responsibilities after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the marquee tournament due to a shoulder injury.
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While addressing the press conference after the match against CSK, DC opener Shikhar Dhawan said that Rishabh Pant did well as a leader. He added that the 23-year-old kept his calm and kept on motivating the boys.
“He (Rishabh Pant) did quite well. First of all, glad that he won the toss. It was a bit of a sticky wicket, so it was good for us to bat second. He kept his calm and kept on motivating the boys,” Shikhar Dhawan said during a post-match press conference.
Dhawan identified Rishabh Pant's best quality as his calmness on the field. He noted that the gloveman was good with his field changes in his first match as captain and will only get better from here.
“He made good changes as well. It was his first match (as captain), so I am sure it is only going to get refined from here. He has just started and with experience, I am sure, he is only going to get better. The best thing about Rishabh Pant is that he stays calm. His presence of mind is quite there, which is very very good,” he said.
Replying to a question which read ‘if he gives his advice to Pant as a senior player’ Dhawan said that whenever youngsters come to him he shares his knowledge with them.
“of course, I give my advice to him. The youngsters, whenever they come to me to ask for batting tips or mindset things, I always share my knowledge with them,” he said.
While talking about his match-winning innings of 85 runs against CSK, Shikhar Dhawan said that he practiced in the nets and executed his plans in the game. He added that he knew the opposition’s bowling plans and tried to use their pace and put the ball over the square leg.
“I started practicing it at the nets and then introduced it in the game. We have to play according to the field set. I knew Chennai keeps square leg and fine leg inside the 30-yard circle and keeps covers behind for me.
“I knew their bowling plans, that they will bowl more yorkers to me. So just tried to use their pace and put the ball over the square leg,” he said.
When asked ‘if he had made changes in his approach’ Dhawan said that there’s no change in his approach and is playing in the same way for a long time now.
“There is no change in my approach or anything. I have been playing like this for a long time now. If you have watched me batting last IPL or even before that I have batted with a good strike rate,” he said.
Shikhar Dhawan further said that he was delighted with the win over CSK. He added they now have to maintain the winning momentum which is their main aim.
“I am happy it was a good performance. It was a good start for us, the whole team did well, Prithvi batted well and the bowlers bowled well. Now we have to keep refining it and maintain it, that is the aim,” he concluded.
Delhi capitals will next face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 15 in Mumbai.
(PTI inputs)
