'When Ishan Kishan scored 200, I knew my career was over': Shikhar Dhawan 'didn't bother to call anyone' when dropped

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Behind the disarming smile and Kabbadi-style thigh slaps hides an astute brain in Shikhar Dhawan. He was not one of India's most prolific white-ball openers for nothing. Of course, his cricketing skills deserve all the credit but points, pretty important ones, must be given to his ability to assess the situation, which many would (rightly) say is an integral part of a successful cricketer's career. For Dhawan, it transcends the cricket field. It is one of his definitive character traits. It does not take him long to judge the room. He did that to perfection in 2018, then in 2021 and again in late 2022. Shikhar Dhawan opens up on the various phases of his cricket career in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times
All these years are significant in Dhawan's life, just like 2013, 2015, and 2017 are, albeit for the exact opposite reasons. You generally don't associate Dhawan with subdued but that's exactly how his start to (senior) international cricket was. Five ODIs for 69 runs between October 2010 and February 2013 and just five runs in a solitary T20I.
When Dhawan was still finding his feet in international cricket, another major transition seemed imminent. Runs were not coming as frequently from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and different openers were being tried. Dhawan once again assessed the situation. With the heavy lifting he was doing in domestic cricket and for India A, he knew opportunities were not going to dry up this easily. All he had to do was cash in. And boy, did he do that in March 2013.
Against an Australian attack with Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon, Dhawan charged his way, quite literally, to an 85-ball century - till date the fastest century by a Test debutant. On a placid Mohali track, Dhawan blasted 33 fours and two sixes in a staggering display of audacity, scoring 187 at a strike rate of 107.47. Mind you, this was early 2013. The T20 revolution had started, but it was still far away from making a noteworthy impact in Test batting.
"I used to do that in domestic cricket as well," Dhawan, who has just announced the launch of his autobiography "The One", told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat when asked whether his charging down the track to the Australian pacers was preplanned. "I used to visualise that I am scoring lots of runs for the Indian team, making centuries before I even made my debut in Test cricket," he said; the radiant smile making it more special.
In Dhawan's words, he realised that his "bat won't stop" that day. He kept on playing his shots, leaving the Aussies gasping for breath. The last England tour in 2018
In his next 33 Tests, Dhawan seldom had that same feeling. Of course, there was the classy 115 against New Zealand in Auckland, followed by a 98 in Wellington in the same series or his fighting 81 in the second innings - He was retired hurt while opening the batting and then came to bat again - against Australia in Brisbane or his three centuries against Sri Lanka. But he could never dominate the red ball consistently as he did the white ball.
"I feel I got a decent average of 40 as an opener," Dhawan said without a iota of hesitation or arrogance, much like the deets he shared about his childhood, life, philosophy and spirituality in his upcoming book that promises to go beyond stats. In the next line, he highlighted his struggles against the Dukes ball. "I couldn't perform in certain countries like England. I went there twice and I couldn't do much over there. I tried my best. But my best wasn't good enough.
It was the 2018 England tour that brought an abrupt end to Dhawan's Test career. "That's life," said the 39-year-old, who retired from all forms last year. "Sometimes unexpected things happen to you in a good way. I took it in my stride. I'm happy with whatever I achieved. Maybe that time, I felt that I could have got more chances. Now, when I look back, I'm happy." No T20 World Cup
2018 was the first major setback in Dhawan's international career since the highs of 2013. And he saw that coming. Exactly like he predicted, a quiet exit from T20Is. The man from Delhi thrived in an era when ODIs and T20Is were always kept in the same bracket of white-ball cricket. The plates started shifting post the 2019 ODI World Cup.
1759 runs at a strike rate of 126.36 was by no means unacceptable in T20Is, but the rapid pace of the game made a change at the top inevitable. It came in 2021 when Dhawan was not picked for the T20 World Cup in Dubai. KL Rahul was chosen as Rohit Sharma's partner.
"I knew that my name was not going to come. I could sense that thing. It's not that you are going to be spoon-fed for everything," Dhawan said. He "never bothered to call anyone" after the T20 World Cup squad came out. "I didn't ask anyone why my name didn't come. Even if I had asked, they were going to have their own perspective on it and I am going to tell my own story. It doesn't make any sense and doesn't change anything." The biggest setback; Dhawan didn't call anyone
The biggest disappointment was yet to come. ODIs... The format Dhawan had ruled ever since the 2013 Champions Trophy was about to follow the Test and T20I route. Just to explain why Dhawan losing his Test and T20I spots is nothing compared to the ODI bolt from the blue, here are some numbers: Dhawan was the Player of the tournament in the 2013 Champions Trophy for scoring the most runs. He was India's highest run-scorer in the 2015 ODI World Cup, once again the tournament's top run-getter in the 2017 Champions Trophy. He has a staggering average of 65 in ICC ODI tournaments. His opening partnership with Rohit Sharma is the second-most prolific among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
In between the Champions Trophy in 2013 and Dhawan's last ODI in 2022, there are only two batters who scored more runs than Dhawan in ODIs. They are his teammates, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Despite these terrific numbers, Dhawan was not even considered for the home World Cup in 2023.
Didn't he deserve a better exit? "Now there is one angle of seeing it that way. Another angle is that at the time, Shubman Gill was doing very well in T20s and Tests as well. Now I am not in the picture that much. I only come for ODIs. But the other player is doing so well and he is in front of the coaches more. He is creating his own aura or own environment authentically, organically," he said. Shubman Gill shakes hands with Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan did not have a downfall in ODIs, per se. The year (2022) that he was dropped, he averaged 34. That is significantly lower than his career average over 45 but one wouldn't call that going through a bad torrid form. It just so happened that it coincided with Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan's rapid rise.
In the Bangladesh tour in 2022, which turned out to be Dhawan's last in India colours, Ishan Kishan became the then-youngest to score an ODI double hundred. Ishan Kishan and Shikhar Dhawan(BCCI)
"I was scoring lots of 50s, I didn't score a 100 but I scored lots of 70s. When Ishan Kishan scored that 200, my instinct told me, alright boy, this can be the end of your career. An inner voice came to me. And that's what happened. Then I remember my friends came over to you know, give me that emotional support. They thought that I would be very down. But I was chilling, I was enjoying."
Were any of his teammates from the Indian team among the ones who got in touch when he lost his place in the side? "No, it doesn't happen that way," Dhawan added. "Maybe I spoke to Rahul (Dravid) Bhai. He messaged me. Everyone has their own journey and they are doing work or they are on tours, that's something very normal. We are used to it from the age of under 14, this is not the first time I am getting dropped or getting in," Dhawan said, flipping the pages of his book.
He quickly sported the broadest smile: "It is a very interesting book. When you read that book, you will have a nice smile on your face," he said.
It's hard not to believe him.