‘Khaali Haath Aana Hai, Khaali Haath Hi Jaana Hai,' Shikhar Dhawan Not Afraid Of Losing IPL Captaincy
Team India’s ODI skipper Shikhar Dhawan is currently leading the team in the New Zealand series.
Team India’s stand-in skipper, Shikhar Dhawan has been an integral part of the Indian cricket team. Currently, he’s seen leading the men in blue in the ODI series against New Zealand. In 2023, he’ll be playing as the skipper of PBKS in the IPL. On being asked if he fears losing the captaincy, the veteran cricketer had an epic reply.
Shikhar Dhawan was first appointed as Team India’s captain in June 2021. In fact, Dhawan won that series as a temporary white-ball captain against Sri Lanka. Since then, he has the captain of the Indian cricket team in three ODIs and one T20 series.
Although Dhawan was appointed as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013, he lost it in 2014 as the captaincy seemed to have affected his batting. However, Shikhar Dhawan was recently appointed as the captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise replacing opener Mayank Agarwal and this seems to be a new beginning for him.
Shikhar Dhawan On His IPL Captaincy
In a recent interview with Nagraj Gollapudi, News Editor, ESPNcricinfo, Dhawan was asked if he fears losing his IPL captaincy due to a similar reason. In response to that, the PBKS captain said, “Job aaye jaaye, koi dikkat nahi. Humne khaali haath aana hai, khaali haath hi jaana hai. Yeh sab toh yahin reh jaana hai. Toh uska merko koi darr nahi. (Jobs come and go, no worries. We come into the world empty-handed and leave empty-handed. All this just remains here. So, I don't fear losing this job.)”
Talking about his captaincy, Dhawan said, “(just because) I'm the captain, I don't want to put that load on myself, thinking ‘Okay, I have to do it this way or that way.’ I will just play the game based on our team goals.”
Adding to that, Dhawan also mentioned that he won’t take the “captaincy tag” along with him and will do things based on what the team demands, and what the team needs. Calling the task of captaincy craftsmanship, he said he’ll mould things according to the situation.
In the same interview, Dhawan was seen claiming that he has always played the IPL finals, whether it was for Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad or Delhi Capitals. So, he definitely hopes to lead his team, Punjab Kings, to the finals this time and win it as well.
Shikhar Dhawan is already leading the men in blue against the Kiwis today, i.e November 25, 2022. The other two matches in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand will be on Sunday, November 27, 2022, and Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Both these matches will start at 7:00 am IST.