Triseries showed India’s depth of talent: Shikhar
BENCH STRENGTH India opener says winning Nidahas Trophy with new names like Washington Sundar bodes well for the future
: The performances of India’s inexperienced side to lift the Nidahas Trophy T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka recently is a strong indicator of the depth in the ranks pointing to more future success, seasoned opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has said.
India, fresh from their 2-1 T20 series win over South Africa on their home turf, rested skipper Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya from that team. However, the ‘B’ team was still good to defeat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and losing their first game against the hosts.
Off-spinner Washington Sundar, 18, all-rounder Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, pacer Mohammed Siraj and batsman Deepak Hooda were all part of the squad.
“It was a great achievement as we have a young bowling unit, youngsters coming in. We all showed a great character,” Shikhar Dhawan said. “We lost the first match but came back strongly. The way we ended the tournament was thrilling. We all loved it, our adrenaline was very high,” Dhawan said on the sidelines of a promotional event.
The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the opening game to Sri Lanka by five wickets, but took control after that. Asked if India’s win reflected their depth, Dhawan said: “Our bench strength is quite strong. We won the tournament with youngsters while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had full sides. That makes a huge impact. We have sent a strong message that even our youngsters are well prepared. It is good these youngsters are getting exposure. They are going to grow from here,” said Dhawan, who scored 198 in five matches in the series with two fifties after a fine run in the limitedovers series in South Africa.
Dhawan is now focused on IPL, starting on April 7. He was retained by 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“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.”
NEW DELHI