No pressure on India's top-3 in World Cup: Dhawan

Flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan says there’s no pressure on the top three in India’s batting line-up, including himself, going into the World Cup, starting May 30.

"I understand that everyone's emotions are high, but high emotions are not going to win you matches. The confidence and calmness will. It is alright even if it is World Cup. We are not going to over-think it. We back ourselves and we are confident and calm at the same time," Dhawan said, when asked if there is pressure on Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and himself to do the maximum run-scoring in upcoming 50 overs tournament.

"We have been doing well for five years now, so nothing is going to change. We have scored so many centuries, broken so many records, so we know how to do it," said Dhawan ahead of Delhi Capitals's IPL match against Chennai Super Kings, in Chennai, on Wednesday.

He said India also have other top-class performers down the order to step up in case the top-order fails. 

"It is not just the three of us; the other boys have chipped in as well. There have been times when the three of us did not do well, but Kedar (Jadhav), Mahi bhai (M S Dhoni) did the job. Hardik (Pandya) has been amazing and K L Rahul is there as well.

"Vijay Shankar has come in; he's a talented boy. So we have a great squad and we are very confident that we're going to do great in the World Cup," he added.

The left-handed batsman, who has aggregated 451 runs from 12 matches this IPL season, was pleased with his showing for Delhi Capitals.

Having qualified for the play-offs, Delhi are aiming for a top-2 spot.

“We just have to play the same way because that is what has given us the success. Knockout is just a tag; obviously, if we win tomorrow's game we directly go to the semi-finals, but nothing changes. We're going to play the same way and back ourselves," he said.

He lauded Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, saying the Mumbai batsman is learning a lot.

"He's been a great leader; he's learning a lot from this high pressure tournament. The way he has handled himself on the field is tremendous as a youngster. At the same time his strategic moves have been great as well."