I played close to body: Shikhar Dhawan

After scoring a century in a comeback match, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan has said that he played close to the body and avoided drives against seamers.

"I hardly played any drives against the fast bowlers. For long parts, I played what we call box cricket: play at balls only close to the body. When I was a 20-year-old boy like the other Delhi youngsters, even I used to play the drive in these conditions," ESPNcricinfo quoted Dhawan as saying.

The 34-year-old smashed unbeaten 137 runs against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy match played here. The Delhi team ended the day at 269 for the loss of six wickets after the team suffered early blows. The left-handed batsman said the experience has taught him how to play on different pitches. "With experience, you get an idea what shots to play on which kind of track," he said.

Shikhar Dhawan and Jasprit Bumrah made a comeback in the Indian squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka and Australia series.

India will host Sri Lanka for three T20Is and after that Australia will tour India to play three ODIs.

India recently won the T20I and ODI series against West Indies. India will play their first T20I against Sri Lanka at Guwahati on January 5, 2020.