Competition within Indian team getting stiffer: Dhawan

Opener Shikhar Dhawan on Friday said the fast-tracking of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill into the Indian team shows that the upcoming talent is "maturing" faster than ever before, increasing competition within the team.

While Shaw made his Test debut in October, Gill earned a maiden call-up for the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. Both batsmen had starred in India's triumphant campaign in the U-19 Word Cup in New Zealand 12 months ago.

Ahead of the World Cup, the competition within the team is fierce, especially in the middle-order.

"I think the youngsters are maturing really quickly in Indian cricket and that creates a lot of competition in the team, everyone has to be on their toes," Dhawan said ahead of the second ODI against New Zealand here on Saturday.

"Someone like a Prithvi Shaw, the way he came into the Test team and scored a century and 70 runs against the West Indies, it shows that our bench strength is also very good. So even among the 15 (squad members), we have very high competition."
Did he make any changes to his game from the ODIs in Australia?
"I haven't worked on any footwork or technique specifically for New Zealand and even if I have, I won't tell. Once you are experienced, your mind is calm and at ease."
On his stand with captain Virat Kohli at Napier, he said: "The good thing about batting with Virat is that we rotate the strike very well and that is one thing that keeps up the pressure (on opposition)."