Dhawan credits failure for his success

Dambulla, August 21 

Shikhar Dhawan may have hit a purple patch but the opener has not forgotten the slump which had forced him out of the team. Dhawan was dropped after the New Zealand series last year and made a comeback for the Champions Trophy this year. Ever since, he has done exceedingly well and hopes to continue in the same vein for as long as possible. 

“I would like to keep performing because if I don’t, there are many batsmen in our side who can take my place,” Dhawan said after helping India to a thumping nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Sunday. “Failure teaches you a lot, and I am lucky I have learnt so much out of it.”

Talking about the slump in form that saw him dropped, Dhawan, who hit a fluent unbeaten 132 on Sunday, said, “When I was not doing well, I was just focussing on my processes. And when I am doing well, I am still focussing on my processes. So those things don’t bother me that much,” said Dhawan. “I have already had a slump, so I don’t think about it. When it has to come, it will come. I will embrace that too.”

Focus on fitness 

The left-hander said he needed to keep his fitness level high to be at par with “the young boys” in the team. “I like to keep myself fit. Apart from that, I don’t really set goals like I’ve to score these many runs. I just focus on my fitness, skills and fielding,” he said.

Lanka not bad team 

After being ruthless with the willow, he chose to be far more sympathetic with his words. “This is a young Sri Lankan side, they are going through a transition and will mature. The young boys are good, they will get better with time,” he said. Asked if the Lankan attack, led by the ageing Lasith Malinga, was the poorest he has faced, the opener refused to belittle the Lankan attack. “Malinga has been a legend for Sri Lankan cricket and he has done great in international cricket. He is a bit old now and with time his pace has gone down a bit. But this is natural because he has played so much cricket, it’s just a cycle, a life cycle,” said the left-handed opener.

“I don’t use those harsh words. I won’t say they are the worst bowling attack I have ever faced. The left-arm bowler (Vishwa Fernando) bowls a decent pace. They have a good pace attack,” he added. — PTI

84.11 Average at which Dhawan has scored his 757 runs from 10 matches against Sri Lanka. It’s the highest by any batsman from either side, with a minimum of ten matches

8 Dhawan has posted eight centuries away from home out of a total of eleven ODI hundreds

6 In the last six ODI innings against Sri Lanka, Dhawan has posted six 50-plus scores — the sequence being 94, 113, 79, 91, 125 & 132 not out