“Sometimes life knock u down even when you work really hard for it!!! I am not the one who gonna keep lying der. I get up again and work hard to chase my dreams again. Nothing can stop you if u don’t stop.”
This is what Shikhar Dhawan posted on his official Instagram account after he was axed from the team, not so long ago. Many thought his career had met an unforeseen end and it was time to look beyond him. But he didn’t listen to critics. He followed his heart, his passion. He made his mind clear with this statement, “People can abuse me for a life time, But they can’t stop me from Playing”. He just did what was needed to be done. He worked hard on his weaknesses and technical flaws and tried to become a better version of himself. Fast forward five months, now he is the leading run-scorer in the ICC Champions Trophy so far.
The man with a million dollar smile has worked really hard on his technical issues, scored runs in the domestic List A competition and followed it up with a brilliant IPL, where he scored 450+ runs. Eventually, he was selected in the squad for the coveted tournament. Many eyebrows were raised on his selection though, and a certain section of Indian fans wasn’t at the same end as the selectors. But he proved them all wrong with some stellar performances in his favourite tournament.
Shikhar Dhawan has always been the man for big tournaments. Not just at the senior level, but starting right from the U-19 level. He was the leading run-scorer of 2004 U-19 World Cup which India lost in the semi-finals. But Dhawan stole the show there and was the Man of the Series way back in 2004 in Bangladesh. He amassed 500+ runs in that tournament which is still a world record for most runs scored in a single U-19 world cup. After a dream start to his Test career where he scored the fastest 100 on Test debut, he got an opportunity straight away to open for India on the big stage of the Champions Trophy 2013 along with Rohit Sharma. He surprised everyone with his planetary performances and bagged the golden bat which is awarded for the highest run-scorer and also the Man of the tournament.
After the epic performances he delivered in the 2013 Champions Trophy, he became a regular member of the team in all three formats. But his inconsistency in Tests and T20I’s didn’t help his cause much. Many wanted him to be dropped from the squad for World Cup 2015, but the management trusted his ability and he went to score over 400 runs in the tournament emerging as the highest run-scorer for India. Who knows, had Glenn Maxwell not taken that stupendous catch which led to his dismissal in the semi-final, India could have well defended their crown of world champions?
After the 2015 World Cup though, he again lost his form and injuries plagued him in Sri Lanka where he broke his finger. The macho opener lost his spot to KL Rahul in the Test team first. Then he was dropped from the T20I team as well earlier this year for the home series against England. Slowly his career looked in a spot of bother and with other choices around, the prospects of Dhawan making a comeback seemed absolutely bleak. After being dropped from the playing XI for the 3rd and final ODI against England in Kolkata, he realised the need to work on his technical flaws. He did exactly that and now the results are there to be seen.
Every time critics wrote him off, he kept rising from the ashes like a phoenix. With the incredible Champions Trophy he has had so far, the opener has shattered many records and more could be broken in the remaining games. He now has the joint-most number of centuries and 50+ scores in Champions Trophy. He needs 158 runs more to overtake Chris Gayle and become the highest run scorer ever in the history of the tournament.
He also broke the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record to emerge as the fastest ever to 1000 runs in ICC Tournaments (Champions Trophy+ World Cup). He can also become the first player ever to emerge as the highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy twice. His staggering record in ICC Tournaments, which are considered by many as a benchmark to rate the greatness of a batsman in ODI’s, can make many legends of the game jealous.
All India wants from Shikhar Dhawan is a bit more consistency in other formats of the game as well. He can surely be a mainstay in the team for next 4-5 years if he keeps performing like this. We can’t be sure about the other two formats, but this guy for sure has the talent to end up as one of the all-time greats in ODI’s. Exciting times ahead of Shikhar Dhawan and team India.