We get inspired by young players when they come up with new shots: Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has leaving no stone unturned in making the upcoming ODI World Cup in India a spectacular event. The experienced Shikhar Dhawan has been one of India’s most prolific performers in ICC tournaments. However, his participation in this year’s showpiece event isn’t guaranteed.

The left-handed batter last played an ODI in December 2022, against Bangaldesh. Since then, the selectors have opted to go in with youngsters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, who have grabbed every opportunity that has come their way.

Dhawan has struggled to regain his spot in India’s ODI side and with less than three months for the 50-over World Cup, time is of the essence for the 37-year-old. Meanwhile, the Delhi batter spoke highly of the young Indian players recently. He praised the unique shots they have in their repertoire and also revealed that he loves learning new shots from youngsters.

“It’s really good to see. Change is the only constant thing in life. You have to adapt with time. It is lovely to see how players have come up with new strategies and new ways of thinking,” Shikhar Dhawan was quoted as saying by ICC.

“Even like… we’ve been playing for such a long time, we get so inspired by all the young players when they come up with some new shots, and personally I ask ‘how you played that?’”, he added.

I asked Suryakumar Yadav ‘What do you do, man?’: Shikhar Dhawan

Suryakumar Yadav is known for playing one of the most audacious shots in the game of cricket. The Mumbai batter, who began his international career with a first-ball six off Jofra Archer, has become an integral part of India‘s setup in white-ball cricket. Dhawan spoke about how he tried learning a shot from the charismatic batter once.

“I was asking SKY, he hits that six and I asked him ‘What do you do, man?’. So he was like, ‘I just bend and I do this’. I said I am going to try that in the nets as well because the more tools you can carry, it gets easier and it’s a wonderful mindset,” said Dhawan.