‘Simple isn’t as simple as it sounds’: How a proper conversation with Ricky Ponting has helped Shikhar Dhawan

Cricket | Saturday | 24th October, 2020

Shikhar Dhawan got having a difficult time in the Indian Premier League 2020, as he was attempting to move beyond the 20s and 30s in the initial scarcely any games for Delhi Capitals. With Dhawan additionally having a moderate strike rate in the initial scarcely any games, there were even proposals that he may be supplanted by Ajinkya Rahane. In any case, each one of those questions have been dissipated as Dhawan the destroyer has shown up in the UAE.

In the previous four games, Dhawan has crushed two fifties and two hundreds. He turned into the first-since forever player to hit consecutive hundreds throughout the entire existence of IPL after he crushed an unbeaten 106 against Kings XI Punjab in DC's past game.

In a recent interview with news agency ANI, Dhawan revealed how a chat with head coach Ricky Ponting about his slow starts gave him confidence that he was on the right track.

“Ricky bhai said that I was batting well and I knew I wanted to play a little fast. I had a discussion on that also with him. I was happy with the 20s and 30s because they were impactful.

“What matters in T20s is how important those 30 runs were. I thought I was playing the role of the opener. The moment I got fifties, I gained in confidence and then by God’s grace I scored the centuries,” Dhawan explained.

“If I keep thinking about scoring centuries, I will burden myself. My idea is to go out and give it my best shot. If I give it my best, the rest will follow. That also helps to keep me mentally light. Why should I add to my expectations?” Dhawan further added.

“Like, going into the first few games of the season, I didn’t have any fifty or anything so 500 runs in the season looked a distant dream. But I have been scoring 500 over the last few seasons, so rather than using it as a pressure scenario, I looked at it positively and thought it is good if I achieve it, else I will try and do my best for the team.

“The idea is to keep it simple and be disciplined. Simple isn’t as simple as it sounds, you also need to be mentally strong,” Dhawan signed off.