Shikhar Dhawan has been flirting with greatness for far too long. He's been around for years, keeping in mind that he was man of the tournament in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2003-04, where he scored 505 runs and announced his arrival in Indian cricket. His journey since has been long and arduous.
After the accomplishments in Under-19 cricket, Dhawan had to deal with the annoyances of not making a smooth transition to the first-class level. And then when he sorted his game at the domestic level and scored handsomely, he had to deal with the frustrations of waiting for his chance, as the opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir was doing very well at the international level.
Through all this, he smiled and kept his chin up. He continued to work hard, getting runs wherever and whenever.
From an India-A game to Delhi’s hot weather cricket league, Dhawan ensured that the sound of his talent was heard and with each big score it kept getting louder and clearer.
I had the opportunity to see Shikhar’s work ethic from close quarters in 2012. I was working on Yuvraj Singh’s documentary and book and was travelling with Yuvi while he was trying to make a miraculous recovery from cancer. We were at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and had a chance to watch Shikhar attend practice sessions.
Despite playing domestic cricket for years and waiting for his chance, there wasn’t a hint of irritation or bitterness in him about being constantly ignored. It’s hard to find someone who would work as hard as him and is as committed as him at that age and that level. He was 27 then.
After 181 first class caps (very unusual in Indian cricket circumstances) came his moment of reckoning. The Jat from Delhi finally made his Test debut in Mohali against Australia in 2013. He scored the fastest hundred on debut and proved to the world that years of hard work and toil in domestic cricket was worth it. He followed up that innings with brilliant performances in the Champions Trophy in 2013 in which India were champions.
Everyone loves everything about Shikhar. After all, he has the build of a body builder, the firmest handshake, the best jokes and the loudest laugh! Here was a boy who was finally showing the world whose turn it was to flex muscles and twirl his moustache.
Since then Shikhar has been in and out of the side. Sometimes due to form and largely due to injuries. I still remember, during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2015, he made a brilliant start to the tour by getting a hundred at Galle and injured his hand while batting.
With his painful hand wrapped in ice and trying his best to get in shape for the second innings, knowing fully well that his tour might well be over, again, Shikhar showed his stoicism.
He was humming Punjabi sufi songs and sharing jokes! I am sure there was pain and agony inside him, but somehow he found a way to hide it and fight it.
The battle for the openers’ slot has been so intense with the likes of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay doing well in the longer format and Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund always lurking around. Dhawan has had to stay on his toes.
Just before the start of this IPL there was debate over his place in the side. Injury to KL Rahul opened up a new opportunity and Shikhar grabbed it with both hands. He just did enough to stake his claims by scoring 479 runs with three fifties in this season.
And once again his come-back is built on the foundation of relentless hard work, his never-say-die attitude and constant belief in his ability – and to back it every time he has been pushed into a corner. One would hope that Shikhar carries the same form to the Champions Trophy and we can all relive the magic of 2013.
Watching this ‘Gabbar’ twirling his moustache on 18 June at the Oval will be a sight to remember. Let’s hope Shikhar Dhawan, a father, a sufi, a classical music lover, a husband and last but not the least a cricketer makes full use of this opportunity.
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(This piece has been republished from The Quint’s archives on the occasion of Shikhar Dhawan’s 32nd birthday. This article was originally published on 20 May 2017)
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