We have depth in our side: Shikhar Dhawan

Having won 10 of their last 11 T20 Internationals, India enter the sixth edition of the ICC World T20 in marauding form. The inclusion of experienced players such as Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra has augured well for the side with youngsters Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah doing well.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan said the team have got depth in both the departments. “We have got a good all-rounder in Hardik who is performing from the word go. It’s a big positive. Yuvi’s presence makes a huge difference for all the youngsters. I feel it’s the main reason why everyone is rating us the best. We have been winning consistently and those wins give us a lot of confidence,” said Dhawan.

With the favourites tag comes the pressure of expectations but Dhawan said the team share the burden by staying close like a family. “We’ll try to share the burden of expectation as a group and not as individuals,” he added.

Dhawan’s own form was iffy in the Asia Cup before the match-winning knock against Bangladesh came in the final. He smashed 53-ball 73 before retiring in a warm-up game against South Africa on Saturday to boost his confidence. “It was a good learning for me as I batted till the 16th over. I faced this kind of situations earlier in T20 also and I got wiser,” said Dhawan.