SL vs Ind: Youngsters will take the confidence from ODIs ahead, says Shikhar Dhawan
Jul 24, 2021
Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 24 : India skipper Shikhar Dhawan feels the young guns are ready for the shortest format after having a stellar show in the ODIs against Sri Lanka.
Avishka Fernando (76) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (65) smashed respective fifties to ensure Sri Lanka did not lose the final ODI despite a late wobble. India won the ODI series 2-1 after failing to secure a win in the dead rubber on Friday.
Ahead of the T20I series, Dhawan said the senior members of the squad are also ready to put up a big show against Sri Lanka in the coming week.
"Of course they are ready, that's why they are here. As you saw, youngsters have performed so well in the ODI series, so they'll be taking that confidence ahead in the T20I series.
"You will see them perform really well. As a team, we have created an amazing environment over here. Really looking forward to do well as a team. Not just the youngsters, even the senior players are looking forward to it," said Dhawan while replying to a query from ANI.
Dhawan was benched for the last four T20I against England in March, however, the left-handed batsman slammed 380 runs (also the most by any player) in the IPL 2021 before the tournament was postponed.
"It is very important. Of course, any international match has its own impact, and whenever you perform internationally it makes a huge impact," said Dhawan.
"So, on a personal note, I'm really looking forward to perform over here and make my place stronger for World Cup contendership. Then we'll see how it goes in the future," he added.
Talking about giving youngsters a chance in the upcoming T20I series, Dhawna said, "We have to win the series. In the last ODI, there was a good opportunity to give some youngsters a chance and give them a taste of international cricket, because we had already won the series.
"We'll of course go in with our best XI first. We'll try to win the first two matches, and then according to the situation, we can experiment in the last game, if needed.
"If we win two matches, then we have options to play any combination we want to. Otherwise, our main goal is to play the best XI to win the series. That's our first priority. After that, if we can seal it like we did in the ODIs, we can think of experimenting," he added.
India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the second T20I on Sunday at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
