Off The Field

Not difficult for me to work with different coaches, says Shikhar Dhawan

Written by Abhishek Patil

Shikhar Dhawan said on Tuesday that he has no problem working with different coaches and having been playing international cricket for more than 10 years, he gets along well with everyone. Dhawan said he enjoyed working with VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in the recent past, saying he has a very good rapport with both coaches.

Speaking to the press on the eve of the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Dhawan responded to a scribe who asked if it was difficult adapting to the different coaching styles in every series.

Notably, Dhawan led India in the ODI series in New Zealand in November in the absence of Rohit Sharma who was rested for the tour. Head coach Rahul Dravid was also rested for the tour of New Zealand after India’s T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. National Cricket Academy chief VVS Laxman took over as the stand-in head coach in New Zealand.

“Not really, I enjoy and I know both the coaches for a long time and have a very good rapport with them. It’s not difficult, I have been playing international cricket for 10-12 years, and those things don’t really make me think too deeply. I am a very friendly sort of person. I get along with everyone. I am happy with every situation,” Dhawan, who turned 37 on Monday, said.

India suffered a 1-wicket defeat in the series opener in Mirpur on Tuesday.

India failed with the bat, managing just 186 on the board but they were on the cusp of victory when they had Bangladesh reeling at 136 for 9. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz played a stunning knock as he added 51 runs for the final wicket with Mustafizur Rahman to help Bangladesh tgo past the finish line.

“We are very, very confident about tomorrow’s game. This is not the first time we have lost the first game in a series. It’s quite normal and we know how to bounce back from these situations. Of course, Bangladesh are playing good cricket. If we see the last match, it was quite interesting game, it was a low total. In the end, they pulled the game back from us, which doesn’t happen very often. Of course, they played really well, credit to them,” Dhawan said.

“Where we need improvements, we analysed that and rectified in a team meeting. Surely, we will be creating much more impact in the coming games,” he added.

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Abhishek Patil