He may be the seventh Indian to lead the team in an international match this year, but Shikhar Dhawan has managed to pull off something that no other captain, ever, has managed - to get Rahul Dravid perform an Instagram reel that instantly broke the internet. Although the act featured most members of the team, but the final appearance of Dravid was the showstopper. And two days after the viral 'hey' act on social media, Dhawan opened up on the same.
In the absence of some of the big-name players in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma along with five other white-ball regulars, Dhawan will be leading a second-string Indian side in the three-match ODI series against West Indies starting Friday in the Port of Spain. However this isn't the first time he is leading the Men in Blue. Earlier in tour of Sri Lanka last year, Dhawan had led a similar second-strong side with the main players in England for the Test series. Then Indian coach Ravi Shastri was also with the Kohli-led side and hence Dravid was assigned to coach the Indian team in Sri Lanka.
Dhawan, sharing his experience of working with Dravid, opened up on the need for a positive and lively environment in the dressing room.
{{/usCountry}}Dhawan, sharing his experience of working with Dravid, opened up on the need for a positive and lively environment in the dressing room.
{{/usCountry}}"We have a great bond," he said. "We had been to Sri Lanka [last year] and bonded well there. There is an understanding, which is very good. I feel my energy and nature are such that we're all together. That liveliness within the group creates a good bond. There's always fun and games, and a lot of laughter. Earlier, we had team dinners and team activities. Now, we do reels too. If people are happy with it, it makes us happy (laughs)."
Dhawan also spoke about leading the Indian side and sharing the dressing room with younger talents.
"I'm very excited," Dhawan said ahead of the first ODI. "Whenever I get a chance to work with the youngsters, I feel I can share my experience with them. Everyone does skill work, but I like to speak about the mental aspect and bring an impact to their games."