Shikhar Dhawan praises Team India youngsters as he gears up for IPL 2018
New Delhi: The inexperienced India side, with a bunch of young players, recently lifted the Nidahas Trophy with a powerful all-round display on field and this makes swashbuckling opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan believe that a strong message has been sent out that the young squad has the strength to bring trophies for India.
"It was a great achievement to win the Nidahas trophy as we have young bowling unit and youngsters coming in. We all showed a great character. We lost the first match, but came back strong on the opposition and took it out from there. The way we ended the tournament was quite thrilling. We all loved it, our adrenaline was very high," Dhawan told ANI, on the sideline of an ALCIS event.
The Rohit Sharma-led young side suffered a five-wicket defeat in their opening game of the tri-series, but bounced back strong to return home with the trophy.
India went into the series in absence of some of their key players like regular skipper Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and others, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had their full regular side.
Asked if this shows India's strong bench strength, Dhawan completely agreed to it.
"Our bench strength is quite strong. We won the tournament with youngsters where Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had full side. That makes a huge impact. We have a strong message that even our youngsters are well prepared. It is good that these youngsters are getting exposure. They are going to grow from here," the southpaw said.
Now being done with a successful South Africa and Sri Lanka tour, Dhawan is preparing himself for the grand Indian Premier league (IPL) which is starting next month.
The star opener has been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad and is expected to form a formidable opening partnership with David Warner.
Speaking of skipper Warner under whom Sunrisers have won the 2016 IPL, Dhawan said, "He has been a good captain for us. Of course he is a great batsman. He has done well for his country and has a good record for Sunrisers in the IPL."
"And we [Warner and I] are one of the best opening partners in the IPL history. We both complement each other and I hope we will rock the IPL this season too," he added.
Talking about his batting approach in the season, the 32-year-old said that he will continue his attacking game as IPL is all about it.
"I am going to play naturally and aggressively. It is the demand of the format. Our team is quite balanced. So I am sure we are going to do well in the coming series," Dhawan concluded.
