With six international hundreds under his belt already (5 in ODIs) and 1000-plus runs in the short format, he has pretty much negated the absence of the discarded Virender Sehwag. However, he now runs into his toughest test as India travel to South Africa. After successive 0-4 thrashings away from home, this is India's shot at redemption.
Dhawan, who was in the city as brand ambassador of a fashion brand, is supremely confident of a good showing in South Africa and his confidence comes from performances in what many pundits claim to be the root cause of all ills that plague Indian cricket: The IPL. "I feel all players in our side have benefited from IPL because we got a chance to play against top quality international bowlers," Dhawan said. The opener plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad with the fearsome Dale Steyn.
"Playing with and against top flight international bowlers has helped us to overcome nerves. Indian players now have the belief that if they can perform against them in the IPL, they can surely perform against them while playing for India as well. We are all very confident of doing well going into the South Africa series," he added.
Dhawan may be confident of his abilities, but the truncated tour means the players will have little or no time before the first ODI gets underway at the Bull Ring, beginning December 5.
"I know we have not had the time to prepare for South Africa. We played back-to-back series against Australia and West Indies. But I guess after a draining series against top international outfits, players deserve at least a couple of days off. The break helps a great deal.
As far as preparations for the SA tour go, we have faced some quality bowlers like Mitchell Johnson while playing against Australia. And we will get a few days to get into rhythm once we land there."
Part of Dhawan's confidence also stems from the fact that he was part of the 'A' team that toured there, squared the Test series and won the ODI leg of the tour in August. In one of the ODI games, he smashed 248 against South Africa 'A'.
"I have been to South Africa before (with India 'A'). So you have the advantage of having played on these pitches and performed well. I can take confidence from that as the pitches there will be good.
They have bouncy tracks which will be helpful for the bowlers and good for the batsmen. Our shots and preparation will be according to the pitch," the left-hander said.
The moustachioed left-hander says he won't hold back while playing his shots. "I assess the wicket and then play my game. Of course, I am a stroke player so I am going to play my shots and back myself."
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