Shikhar Dhawan looking to start afresh in 2020, quips he hasn't forgotten to bat yet 

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who remained sidelined due to injury issues for the most part of 2019, has expressed his desire to make a fresh start in the upcoming year. Dhawan will be leading the Delhi side against Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy game and is back in action after recovering from a deep cut in his knee that required 25 stitches to heal -- an injury that occurred during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match.

He last featured for India in a T20I against Bangladesh back in November.

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In Dhawan's absence, KL Rahul took over as the opener and shone for the Indian team in the limited-overs series against West Indies. Rahul scored 164 runs in three T20 innings that included two half-centuries. He went on to score 185 runs in the three following ODIs with one half-century and one century to his name.

Happy with his teammate's brilliant form in white-ball cricket, Dhawan revealed hopes to go and express himself in his upcoming matches.

This is a fresh start for me. I was hit on the finger, then on the neck, bruised eye and then stitches on the knee. Good news is New Year is coming. I am happy that KL has done so well. He has grabbed the opportunity. So I am going to go and express myself.

Earlier, Dhawan had suffered a thumb fracture mid-way in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 that kept him out for the rest of the tournament. As he looked to get back into form in the shorter formats, he got his knee injured.

The 34-year-old admitted that injuries were part and parcel of the game and was hopeful of a decent outing in the upcoming T20Is versus Sri Lanka (wherein he will most likely open for the team as Rohit Sharma is taking a break).

Injuries are natural. You've got to accept that. It's fine and I don't create a big fuss about it. The start-stop thing doesn't affect me as I haven't forgotten how to bat. My class is permanent and I will score runs.

This is an important season. I would like to perform well in the T20s against Sri Lanka but the selection is support staff's (team management) headache. They will do their job and I will do mine. Looking forward to score big runs.

With the upcoming game against Hyderabad, Dhawan will be making a return to red-ball cricket after 15 long months, having played his last Test match back in September 2018.

The southpaw expressed his joy at the prospect of playing in the Ranji Trophy and sharing his knowledge with the youngsters. He said that a return to the Test team is not on his mind at the moment and that he intends to play all the three formats. He further threw light on the severity of his injury.

Whether I am in Test team or not is immaterial. I know what game I have. I have scored runs in international cricket as well. I am happy to come back and play Ranji. I have grown from the Ranji level and can't be better that I am back here and also imparting knowledge to other kids.

My goal remains to play all three formats. I am working on that and even now when I passed the fitness test, the first 20 days I couldn't walk. Then I worked on my fitness. It was a deep cut.

Focusing upon the workload of playing for India and playing in the domestic matches, Dhawan revealed that every player needs mental and physical rest before showing up for any game.

If you've played an international series, then you need to give him (a player) rest so that he remains fresh. When you play for India, that's the priority. We are humans and not machines, so mentally and physically you need to be fresh.

An international player knows how much he can stretch his body. There are times you get emotional and may play for Delhi (or state team) and in turn get injured and India assignment gets hampered.

With the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw vying for the opener's slot in Tests and the recent purple patch that KL Rahul has hit in white-ball cricket, Dhawan will surely want to ensure that the runs come thick and fast now that he's returned to the fold.