When I see the younger generation, they express themselves fearlessly – Shikhar Dhawan

India’s veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan has lauded the younger generation of players, who are coming through the ranks. Dhawan, who is currently out of favor from all three forms of the game, recalled that the coaches of his generation used to tell him to play shots along the ground and not hit the ball in the air.

However, things have changed in the last five years and a lot of credit goes to T20 cricket for modifying the way the game is being played these days.

We have noted young Indian players such as Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan have expressed themselves from the get-go in the Indian Premier League.

As quoted by The ICC, Dhawan said:”The thought process is getting broader. Earlier our coaches used to tell us to play down the ground, you don’t have to play big shots.

“So, we were raised with that sort of mindset, but now when you see a youngster coming in, they will just go and express themselves. So, again, the main point is when I see the younger generation, they express themselves fearlessly.”

“We also express ourselves, but we had that thing because we were mentally trained that we have to play more on the ground, but the new generation, they play and they express themselves very nicely, and they don’t feel that guilt as well that ‘I got out this way or that way’, so I feel that is the biggest change we have seen, and it’s amazing.”

Meanwhile, Dhawan lost his opening position in the ODI team to Shubman Gill, who has been performing consistently.

Dhawan admitted it is lovely to see the next generation of players adopt a new and aggressive strategy to score their runs.

“It’s really good to see. Change is the only constant thing in life. You have to adapt with time. It is lovely to see how players have come up with new strategies and new ways of thinking.”

Dhawan also revealed he asked Suryakumar Yadav for some hitting tips and he is looking to add more weapons to his armory.

“I was asking SKY, he hits that six, and I asked him ‘What do you do, man?’. So he was like, ‘I just bend, and I do this’. I said I am going to try that in the nets as well because the more tools you can carry, it gets easier, and it’s a wonderful mindset.”

With so many young players grabbing their chances, Dhawan’s re-entry to India’s ODI team looks bleak.