The flamboyant Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan had a decent run in the recently concluded 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Dhawan amassed as many as 497 runs in the 16 matches that he played in the season. His best knock in the season was when he scored 92* that overshadowed an unbeaten 128 scored by Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Daredevils (DD) in a league match.

Now, Shikhar Dhawan is looking forward to performing well in the international arena as well. On the sidelines, he recently named his favorite player in the modern day cricket. Many would wonder that he would take the name of the Indian captain Virat Kohli, but the southpaw made a firm choice when he was asked this question in an interview with Cricbuzz. He quickly too the name of the legendary South African batsman AB de Villiers. He remarked that he feels lucky to have shared the cricketing space with ABD.

WATCH – Shikhar Dhawan crosses the line

Talking about ABD further, Shikhar said, “AB de Villiers. He’s a great batsman and more than that he’s a gem of a person too. A great leader. I have learned a lot of things by just watching him. I’m happy that I played against him.”

When asked to share the experience of IPL 2018 while playing for SRH, Dhawan looked quite content with the performance. He asserted that reaching the finals was a great effort for the team. They faced a major setback after the exclusion of David Warner prior to the season. But the way Kane Williamson led the team and had a wonderful season with the bat was amazing.

Reflecting back on the tournament, Shikhar said, “It was good. We lost our captain (David Warner) before the tournament began. Then Kane Williamson came along and he had a wonderful season. He’s a good captain. I had a good season too. We played in the final, though the result didn’t go our way. Overall, we played good cricket and enjoyed the season.”