Shikhar Dhawan
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Contents |
A brief biography
His talent is spotted
Gaurav Gupta, August 26, 2024: The Times of India
Mumbai : Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, owes a significant part of his success to two stalwarts of Indian cricket from Mumbai—Dilip Vengsarkar and Sandeep Patil. These two ensured that Dhawan was selected at the right time in his career. Both Vengsarkar and Patil made strong, and sometimes unpopular, decisions during their tenure as chief national selectors, but are still appreciated for identifying young talent and picking players at the opportune moment.
In early March 2013, it was at Patil’s insistence that Dhawan was picked for India’s squad for the third Test against the visiting Australians in Mohali. Replacing the great Virender Sehwag, who was then going through a lean patch, Dhawan immediately made his mark by smashing a magnificent 187 off just 174 balls, including an 85-ball century—the fastest by any batter on Test debut.
“You should support a young cricketer who’s in form. Getting the right opportunity at the right time is extremely important. At that point, Shikhar had just returned from India A’s South African tour after scoring a double century and a century there. Unfortunately, we had to make a tough call. All my four co-selectors opposed my decision (to select Dhawan over Sehwag), but ultimately, something good happened. He scored a hundred on his Test debut. It proved that my idea of picking him was right. I don’t want to take credit for this. I give credit to Shikhar because he proved my decision right. He saved me!” Patil told TOI.
Years before this, Dhawan shot into the limelight during the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka, where he emerged as the tournament’s highest run-getter. The left-hander set the event on fire, amassing 505 runs in seven innings at an average of 84.16.
Few know that it was Vengsarkar who played a crucial role in Dhawan’s selection for that tournament after he had initially been dropped by the then India Under-19 selectors due to poor performance in a couple of trial matches in Mumbai. Recalling that episode, Vengsarkar told TOI: “In 2004, I was the chairman of the BCCI’s TRDW (Talent Research Development Wing), and Jagmohan Dalmiya (then BCCI president) asked me to attend all the selection committee meetings of the India Under-19 team as well. “Before the squad was announced, the BCCI had organized two one-day selection trial matches at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which I couldn’t attend due to a prior commitment. When the squad was announced, I noticed Shikhar’s name was missing. I had been watching him since his Under-16 days. When I asked the selectors why he was dropped, I was told that he didn’t score in those two matches. Pushing for his selection, I told them, ‘So what if he failed in these two matches? He’s a good player, just pick him.’ To their credit, the selectors respected my opinion, and Dhawan was picked. He ended up being the highest run-getter of the tournament.”
A summing up
As in 2024 August
Partha Bhaduri, August 25, 2024: The Times of India
From: Partha Bhaduri, August 25, 2024: The Times of India
From: Partha Bhaduri, August 25, 2024: The Times of India
Shikhar Dhawan, who announced his international and domestic retirement on Saturday, knows Indian cricket has moved on without him. Dhawan will also know, more than most, that the stage never belongs to anyone in particular. One has to jump on it and stake a claim. Dhawan did it longer, and better, than most.
Consider that the left-handed opener was already 52 first-class matches old, stretching back to Nov 16, 2004, when he finally got to make his ODI debut against Australia in Vizag in Oct 2010. His reward from the gods would be a two-ball duck.
By the time of his famed Test debut at the age of 27 in March 2013 in Mohali — yet again against the Aussies — he had been long used to trudging his way across India’s dreary domestic landscape, where even big hundreds can sometimes go against you. He had put in 81 first-class appearances. It was priceless experience but a number today’s fast-tracked T20 stars would be loath to consider an achievement.
Before he blazed through to the fastest Test century on debut — the 85-ball record still stands — Dhawan had been written off as the quintessential cricketing journeyman. Cynics still referred to him as the hero of India’s 2004 U-19 World Cup campaign. Even the most weather-beaten Delhi club coach had doubts whether Dhawan’s technique would hold under international cricket’s piercing glare.
Hidden deep beneath that effervescent smile and casual air, though, was an extraordinary ability to ride the roughest wave.
Dhawan knew something most people who interacted with him didn’t — he may be easygoing but as an active cricketer, he was deeply philosophical. He knew, more than most, that nothing goes according to the script. There’s no need to get all cut-up and angsty about it. Adapt. Move on. Be professional. There’s the other, real, life, and of course those problems need attention too. Don’t hold a grudge. Keep the faith. Keep believing.
This surprising level of detachment and level-headedness helped him, in a relatively short span of time, to forge a legacy as a lefthanded batter of distinction who delivered in high-pressure situations in 50-over cricket, especially in ICC tournaments. It couldn’t have been easy because Dhawan’s career was full of surprises — of both the pleasant and nasty kind — and nothing that happened followed from before.
As someone who replaced Virender Sehwag in Tests and was meant to extend the dominance of the Delhi school of batsmanship, Dhawan now retires not as a Test stalwart of renown but instead as an ODI giant, someone who gave his best when India needed to win the big global events.
In ICC tournaments he averages 65.15, the best ever, and he played a prominent role in the 2013 Champions Trophy win. He forged 18 century stands with Rohit Sharma, the second best for an opening pair behind Ganguly and Tendulkar. His ODI career average of 44.11 is only behind Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit and Tendulkar. That makes Dhawan fifth best. He’ll take that, no questions asked.
“It is important to turn the page to move forward in a story, and in life,” Dhawan said in a video posted on social media. “I’m leaving with peace in my heart that I played so long for India. I’ve told myself not to feel sad that you won’t play for India again, but feel happy that you played for your country (at all).”
The statement is typical Dhawan. He was all aggressive strokeplay, cuts and off-side flourishes with bat in hand on the field. Off it, his analysis of his own game was simplistic but effective.
He may not have been the classiest left-hander in the business and may have had a limited range of strokes but as Sanjay Manjrekar said in tribute, he “punched well above his weight”.
When Dhawan timed it well, he was a treat to watch. And so what if he never conquered his troubles against real lateral movement?
Dhawan never let his technical weaknesses, and an early tendency to chase the ball, weigh him down in big ICC events, and that’s all that matters. He featured prominently in some memorable moments in Indian cricket, making him one of its most popular characters. Now, there’s no need to hang on. There’s a lesson he can still offer to the Shubman Gills, Yashasvi Jaiswals and Rishabh Pants, who will now carry the flame forward. Clarity of mind is everything. And playing with a smile helps.
Details
August 25, 2024: The Times of India
Shikhar’s Dhawan was one of the best white-ball openers of the 2010s. The Delhi cricketer played some memorable red-ball innings as well, his debut Test ton against Australia in Mohali being a case in point. TOI takes a look at Dhawan’s top-five innings across formats in international cricket...
ODIs
114 off 94 balls against SA (Cardiff, Champions Trophy 2013): Batting first, Dhawan played an innings to remember against a quality attack led by Morne Morkel. His 127-run opening partnership with Rohit Sharma was one of the first signs that the duo would dominate white-ball cricket for the rest of the decade. India won the match by 26 runs.
137 off 144 balls against SA (MCG, ODI World Cup, 2015): An innings of absolute class and quality despite losing Rohit early. Dhawan attacked the Dale Steyn-led attack and took the Proteas apart, setting up India’s 130-run victory against a formidable outfit.
117 off 109 against Australia (The Oval, 2019 ODI World Cup): It was in this match that Dhawan got injured and was consequently ruled out of the World Cup. But before that, the left-hander brought all his experience into play and scored a fluent century against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. India won the game by 36 runs.
Tests
187 off 174 balls against Australia (Mohali, 2013): Virender Sehwag was on his way out and India were looking for a dasher up top. Dhawan was tried in the third Test after Viru failed in the first two and the southpaw was a super-hit straight away. He smashed the fastest debut century, taking apart a Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon-led attack and his 289-run opening stand with M Vijay was one of the highlights of the Test which India won by 6 wickets.
190 off 168 balls against Sri Lanka (Galle, 2017): Dhawan’s beauty was he could score daddy hundreds, that too at well above run a ball. He plundered the Lankans on Day 1 and his 243-run stand with Cheteshwar Pujara was quite a treat for the fans. Needless to say, India won easily, by 304 runs.
Achievements
2017: The dream run continues
Partha Bhaduri, June 13, 2017: The Times of India
Modern Indian cricketers aren't too attuned to the game's history . They rely, instead, on a natural, learn-as-you-go process to develop both their game and worldview.
So when Virat Kohli was asked a day before the game against South Africa what the Oval meant to him, there was not even a passing mention of the landmark 1971 Test, forget 1979, when Sunil Gavaskar nearly pulled off a heist, or the relatively recent Rahul Dravid double.
Kohli was, instead, very much clued into the present limited-overs scenario, saying, “The two games that are very special for Indian cricket would be the seven-match series we had here and Robin (Uthappa) getting us across the line (in 2007; Kohli wasn't a part of those games).
“And then against West Indies in the Champions Trophy back in the day when Shikhar (Dhawan) got a hundred and we chased a total down.So those two memories are very special for Indian cricket at the Oval.“
While Robin Uthappa isn't a part of this Champions Trophy team, it's instructive the captain remembered Dhawan's knock among all others.The left-handed opener's significance in India's One-day scheme of things cannot be overstated.
The team management is always willing to give Dhawan the benefit of doubt when he is off-colour. They seem to know thing or two about the Delhi cricketer's ability to raise his game in multi-team ODI events.
“Back in the day“ too, Dhawan, seemingly cavalier, always confident, attractive with his strokeplay when he gets going, possessed the rare ability to bring his A-game to ICC events, like he did in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, scoring three centuries in seven innings and averaging 84.16.
In the game Kohli mentioned, Dhawan had scored an unbeaten 102 off 107 balls. He seems to have carried on in this edition from where he left off in the 2013 Champions Trophy , when he was Man of the Series, averaging 90.75 at slightly more than a run-a-ball strike rate and scoring two hundreds in five innings. Or even the 2015 World Cup, when he was the highest run-getter for India.
Impressively, he has the best alltime average when it comes to World Cups and Champions Trophies combined, averaging 69.73 with five hundreds and four fifties, putting him well above Saeed Anwar and Vivian Richards at No.1 on the list.
Then there's the special England connection: Dhawan always seems to do well on English pitches, the best by far, actually. Among batsmen with at least 500 ODI runs on English soil, Dhawan has the best average of 78.90, well above Vivian Richards' 64.04.Dhawan has played 12 games as compared to Viv's 31.
This time around, he has been central to India's plans of consolidating up the order and setting the platform for a late surge: even a trademark century against Sri Lanka wasn't enough for India to sail through, though his assurance ensured no hiccups in the small chase against South Africa. As usual, Dhawan is heading the batting charts, and just became the fastest to 1000 runs in 50-over ICC events, achieving the feat in 16 innings compared to Sachin Tendulkar's 18.
“The way Shikhar is batting was really great to see,“ Kohli said after the win over South Africa. “To have him play his natural game, play free cricket, get boundaries regularly, that really eases the situation out for the whole team. I'm glad he's backing himself.“ Dhawan's seemingly happy-go lucky demeanour hides a steely resolve. It's easy to forget he scored the fastest Test century by a debutant after nine years of exile on the domestic circuit, during which he had been completely written off as an international prospect. He seems in no hurry to return to those days. If Dhawan's timing clicks for another two games, Kohli will have new landmarks at the Oval to celebrate.
