“I have to keep performing”: Shikhar Dhawan insists he is not taking his place for granted in Indian ODI squad for 2023 World Cup

Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead the Indian team in the 3-match ODI series against New Zealand starting tomorrow at Eden Park in Auckland. India won the T20I series, and the team would want to do the same in the ODI series as well under the captaincy of Dhawan.

Dhawan has been the pillar of the Indian ODI squad for almost a decade now. Since, the 2013 Champions Trophy, he has been a regular part of the Indian team and his partnership with Rohit Sharma has been incredible for the Indian team. He now just plays the ODI format for India, where he has scored 6672 runs at 45.08 with the help of 17 centuries.

ALSO READ: Eden Park boundary dimensions

The year 2022 has been decent for Dhawan in terms of numbers, where he has scored 567 runs at an average of 40.50 with the help of 5 half-centuries. New Zealand’s grounds have been good for batters in white-ball cricket, and Dhawan would want to take advantage of it.

Shikhar Dhawan not taking his place for granted in Indian ODI squad

Shikhar Dhawan addressed the press ahead of the 1st ODI against New Zealand in Auckland where he talked about his place in the Indian ODI team. He said that he knows that he needs to keep performing in order to maintain his place in the Indian ODI squad as an opener.

Dhawan insists that he does not take anything for granted, and he is always on his toes while playing for the national team. With the World Cup next year in India, Dhawan said that he is very hungry to score runs. It is to be noted that there are quite a few contenders to open with Rohit Sharma in the World Cup.

“We guys have been performing quite well. We have both been very successful players. But at the same time, talking about myself, I have to keep performing and I don’t take anything for granted,” Shikhar Dhawan said.

Shikhar Dhawan on handling social media trolls

Social media trolls are increasing day by day for athletes, and Dhawan acknowledges that an athlete should go on to read comments on social media if he does not perform well in the match. He said that the opinion of the people on social media changes with every performance, so its better not to talk about it.

“On social media, people praise us and troll us as well and we are used to it. At the same time, a smart person won’t go and look into social media because we know how people will respond if we don’t perform well. The social media will respond to how we perform,” Dhawan added.