Shikhar Dhawan was one of the special panelists present at the launch of the official movie of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, presented by social media giant Meta in Mumbai on Thursday. The thrilling film ‘It Takes One Day’ featured some of the best cricketing talents as well as Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan narrating the specially conceptualized CWC23 ‘Navarasa’, which showcased the raw emotions of fans and players.
The 37-year-old Indian batsman has 13 years of international cricket experience, but his search for new lessons has not stopped. He expressed his view on the biggest change he has noticed in the way cricket is played today, emphasizing the mindset of the young generation and their ability to express themselves.
“It’s really good to see. Change is the only constant in life. You have to adapt with time. It’s nice to see how players have come up with new strategies and new ways of thinking,” Dhawan said at the event, as quoted by ICC.
“Even if… we’ve been playing for so long, we get so inspired by all the young players when they come up with new shots, and I personally ask ‘how did you play that?'”
Dhawan shared a case where he tried to learn one of Suryakumar Yadav’s shots during T20 World Cup 2022.
“I asked SKY, he hits that six and I asked him ‘What are you doing, man?’ So he said, ‘I just bend over and I do this’. I said I’m going to try that in the nets too, because the more tools you can carry, it gets easier and it’s a great mindset.”
Dhawan compared the times when he started playing cricket with the modern approach and explained how the youth mentality has become a game-changer.
“The thinking process is getting broader. Our coaches used to always tell us to play on the ground, you don’t have to play big players. So we’ve been brought up with that kind of mentality, but now when you see a youngster come in, they’re just going to express themselves.
“So, again, the main point is that when I see the younger generation, they express themselves fearlessly. Where else do we express ourselves, but we had that thing because we were mentally trained that we had to play more on the ground, but the new generation, they play and they express themselves very nicely and they don’t feel so guilty that ‘I got away this way or that,’ so I think that’s the biggest change that we’ve seen and it’s amazing.”
Dhawan, who has represented India in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is with over 10,000 international runs, has a creditable record in over 50 global ICC tournaments.
He has featured in the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2015 and 2019 editions of the Cricket World Cup in which he has amassed 1,238 runs at an average of 65.15, including six centuries.
Having played in two World Cups, Dhawan spoke about the exhilarating feeling of playing on one of the biggest stages in cricket and what it meant to him as a player.
“It’s a very special feeling when you play in a World Cup and you prepare for that when you play bilateral series,” said Dhawan.
“Your main goal in that or when the World Cup is coming. So we are maturing and bilateral series are like a step-by-step [process]. You take small steps to reach the bigger goal and that is of course a completely different feeling.
“When the first time my name came into the World Cup team I was like ‘okay’ and you say to yourself that ‘history mein name aagaya hai ki World Cup bhi khele hain’ (it is mentioned in history that they also participated in the World Cup). So it’s so big [a deal] as a cricketer, and it’s a great feeling. And also a lot of pressure,” he added.
The blockbuster 2023 Cricket World Cup kicks off with the epic clash between England and New Zealand on October 5, with the final on November 19 at the largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
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