I am Cool and Aggressive Captain: Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar-Dhawan-Tom-Moody-SRH-CLT20-2013

Shikhar Dhawan’s life has been running on the fast lane since his phenomenal Test debut six months ago. His Man of the Series winning 363 runs in the Champions Trophy in England helped India win that title, before he slammed a record-breaking 248 for India A against South Africa A in a List A game.

In what is another feather in Dhawan’s already colourful cap, he has been named the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the Karbonn Smart Champions League T20 2013. In his first media interaction after landing the captaincy, Dhawan was characteristically calm and confident. When asked to describe his leadership, he replied with his trademark smile, “I am cool and aggressive – aggressive from the inside, cool on the outside”.

Here is an account of the conversation with Dhawan and SRH coach Tom Moody:

The big decision

Shikhar Dhawan: I have captained the Delhi team for a while now but this is a new challenge. It’s an honour to lead a team like the Sunrisers because it has some big players, and I am really looking forward to it.

Tom Moody: We, as a franchise, are very fortunate to have a lot of capable leaders in our group – those who have led their domestic teams, like Shikhar, as well as international captains like Darren Sammy, Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara, when he was with us. So, we were spoilt for choice. But we thought that given the circumstances where Kumar is unavailable for us (he will represent his domestic team, Kandurata Maroons, in CLT20 2013), this is an important stepping stone with regards to our relationship with Shikhar and plan for the future. For his cricketing skills, we all know what he is capable of doing. We also thought he has natural leadership qualities and it’s an area where he has shown interest in developing. I am excited at the prospect of working alongside him and forming a very important partnership going forward.
Captaincy style

Dhawan: I am cool and aggressive – aggressive from inside and cool on the outside. I want my team to enjoy themselves on the field at the same time maintain the intensity of the game. We already have that at SRH 

Rise of young Indian leaders like Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Dhawan: We guys have been playing the IPL for a long time and you tend to get mature with time. You also get new responsibilities along the way and I feel this is a good time for my team and me that I take over.

Moody: I think, from India’s point of view, it’s great for the likes of Shikhar, Virat and Rohit to get the exposure that comes with leading their IPL teams. You never know how the game changes in a year’s time and it’s great to have a bunch of players who have the experience of working with international players and work under pressure in tournaments like the IPL and CLT20. 

source: clt20.com

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