Shikhar Dhawan was the toast of the town midway through last year when his outstanding run with the bat saw him clinch the Player of the tournament award in the Champions Trophy with 363 runs in 5 matches, including 2 centuries and 1 fifty.
Fast forward to December, and Shikhar Dhawan went through his toughest period as an Indian player. Four test innings against the likes of Steyn and Morkel saw Shikhar accumulate a mere 76 runs with a highest score of 29. A month later, Dhawan was a completely transformed player. Four innings in New Zealand : 215 runs with a century that nearly won India the match, and a 98 that put India on the front foot. Dhawan acknowleges that the “setback” in South Africa made him introspect and devote time in order to finetune the finer aspects of his game, which paid dividends Down Under.
“From South Africa, when I didn’t make much of a contribution, I analysed my game that as a batsman, or as an opener, what shots I should play at the start or what shots I shouldn’t play,” Dhawan said. “Each pitch is different. We played a lot of cricket at home (in India) that time [just before going to South Africa]. Then when I went there, it was a setback. I wouldn’t say a failure, but the setback helped me a lot to become a more mature player.
“Then I realised, ‘Okay on these kinds of pitches I need to play these kind of strokes. And I have to leave bouncers [alone] at the start because the bounce is different, and it is hard to keep the ball down.’ I worked on these things and put them in practice. When I went to New Zealand that practice became my instinct, and that’s how I scored big runs there.”
It has now been a year since Shikhar Dhawan silenced his doubters with a sensational test century on debut in Mohali after making a comeback into the Indian fold. A late bloomer in cricketing terms, the 28-year old has enjoyed a remarkable run of form for the past twelve months, scoring seven international centuries in that period – a record only his compatriot and teammate Virat Kohli has bettered.
Looking back on the past year, Dhawan said : “One year is finished already. It went so quickly. Good time always flies really fast. I celebrated on my own, the first anniversary with the Indian team. It’s a great feeling. We were victorious in so many series, and of course we went through some bad phases as well. But that’s how it is. You see ups and downs both. It is a beautiful journey. I am delighted to make a contribution for the team’s cause. I want to keep doing that, I want to keep improving as a batsman, and keep winning cricket matches and series for India.”
Dhawan admits the ‘lean patch” made him ‘stronger’ and helped him to realise his areas of weakness. The Indian opener also said that it is a ‘beautiful thing’ that he was able to score so many centuries and half-centuries for India and said that it is any batsman’s dream to ” to score a lot of centuries and become the main man for the team.”
Dhawan also remembers the days when he had to wait in the wings as two othe Delhi batsmen, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, forged one of the greatest partnerships in the modern day game. He looks back on those days with a touch of philosophy, and he is also well aware that there cannot be any room for complacency.
“I had a firm belief it is a race that never ends. When Gautam bhai and Viru bhai were playing, I was playing in the Ranji trophy. I always used to believe this race never ends. I should look to perform well, and my opportunity will come. Then god blessed me with [a chance in the] Indian team.”