Shikhar Dhawan shot to fame after a fantastic run in the 2004 U-19 World Cup, where he scored 505 runs garnished with 3 hundred. However, it took him a long while to make it to the Indian team due to a large amount of competition at the time. A naturally attacking left-handed opener, Dhawan has been one of the mainstays of the Delhi line-up for a long time and forms an unable to capture top-order along with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, scoring runs by the container along with them. He was rated quite highly by experts for his ability to dig in and play the big innings.
Dhawan, with his side-on stance and negligible trigger movement, is strong on the off-side with his cuts and drives. However, his leg-side game tends to be scratchy and ran in severe contrast to his off-side game. A natural stroke-player, Dhawan has the gift of picking the line of the ball early and the length of the ball, allowing him enough time to get into position for any shot that he wishes to play
After a series of excellent domestic performances, he was handed an India debut against Australia in 2010. He scored a duck and made no significant contributions for a while, as he continued to be the representing the most perfect replacement player in the side. However, given the controversial axing of Virender Sehwag after the second Test, Dhawan was handed the desirable India Test cap to make his debut against the Australians in March 2013. He had a start that he wouldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams as he raced away to the fastest ever hundred on debut off just 85 balls, and was finally dismissed for a boundary-filled 187.
Dhawan had a purple patch in 2013, and continued his form in ODIs and emerging as the player of the tournament in the ICC Champions Trophy in June 2013. He flashed away to 363 runs in just five games, including two hundred. When Australia toured India in October 2013, Dhawan was relentless in his chase of runs as he slammed a ton and two fifties, finishing with 284 runs in six matches. He continued his good run in the home series against West Indies as well, becoming the highest run-getter for India in the calendar year.
Dhawan had a dismal Test series against South Africa in 2013 and an even worse one in England in 2014, with a best of 37 in six innings, where his problems outside off were exposed, as he committed to the line of the ball too early, thereby ending up not accounting for the lateral movement and had a current of chasing the ball. He continued to struggle in Tests barring a rather scratchy 81 in the second innings of the Brisbane Test, Dhawan did not get any significant scores in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Due to his technical deficiency, he sacrificed his spot to Lokesh Rahul. However, in limited-overs cricket, where the pitches are true and all is rosy, Dhawan continued to prosper.
However, Dhawan continued to remain India's go-to man in ODIs and delivered another fine performance in an ICC event, making him a specialist for the biggest stage in the limited-overs format. Despite his limitations, his carefree attitude and his explosive off-side shots, one can't help but draw comparisons with another maverick opener from Delhi. The ability to peak during ICC events makes him an almost indispensable asset to the side in limited-overs cricket - a rather theatrical oddity in his career with the utopian twist of opportune comebacks.
world cup through the years:
The Ultimate ICC event player. Shikhar Dhawan is the individual equivalent of the Australian team post the 1999 World Cup - regardless of merit or form, he has a knack of attaining his peak form just before World events. Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, things are no different. After a couple of months where he just about managed to hold on to his place in the side, Dhawan was in explosive form during his side's admirable IPL 2019 campaign, ending up as his side's highest run-scorer in the tournament just ahead of the World Cup. In India's 2015 World Cup campaign, Dhawan was India's highest run-getter with 412 runs, scoring at an average in excess of 50, with two crucial knocks in pressure games against major teams - 137 against South Africa, and a useful 73 against Pakistan. With the 2019 World Cup around the corner, Dhawan, who has consistently performed in ICC events, starting from the Junior World Cup in 2004, until the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, is bound to be an asset to the Indian team in the 2019 World Cup and possibly a key player in their set-up at the top of the order to lay the foundation for a third title.
Dhawan, with his side-on stance and negligible trigger movement, is strong on the off-side with his cuts and drives. However, his leg-side game tends to be scratchy and ran in severe contrast to his off-side game. A natural stroke-player, Dhawan has the gift of picking the line of the ball early and the length of the ball, allowing him enough time to get into position for any shot that he wishes to play
After a series of excellent domestic performances, he was handed an India debut against Australia in 2010. He scored a duck and made no significant contributions for a while, as he continued to be the representing the most perfect replacement player in the side. However, given the controversial axing of Virender Sehwag after the second Test, Dhawan was handed the desirable India Test cap to make his debut against the Australians in March 2013. He had a start that he wouldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams as he raced away to the fastest ever hundred on debut off just 85 balls, and was finally dismissed for a boundary-filled 187.
Dhawan had a purple patch in 2013, and continued his form in ODIs and emerging as the player of the tournament in the ICC Champions Trophy in June 2013. He flashed away to 363 runs in just five games, including two hundred. When Australia toured India in October 2013, Dhawan was relentless in his chase of runs as he slammed a ton and two fifties, finishing with 284 runs in six matches. He continued his good run in the home series against West Indies as well, becoming the highest run-getter for India in the calendar year.
Dhawan had a dismal Test series against South Africa in 2013 and an even worse one in England in 2014, with a best of 37 in six innings, where his problems outside off were exposed, as he committed to the line of the ball too early, thereby ending up not accounting for the lateral movement and had a current of chasing the ball. He continued to struggle in Tests barring a rather scratchy 81 in the second innings of the Brisbane Test, Dhawan did not get any significant scores in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Due to his technical deficiency, he sacrificed his spot to Lokesh Rahul. However, in limited-overs cricket, where the pitches are true and all is rosy, Dhawan continued to prosper.
However, Dhawan continued to remain India's go-to man in ODIs and delivered another fine performance in an ICC event, making him a specialist for the biggest stage in the limited-overs format. Despite his limitations, his carefree attitude and his explosive off-side shots, one can't help but draw comparisons with another maverick opener from Delhi. The ability to peak during ICC events makes him an almost indispensable asset to the side in limited-overs cricket - a rather theatrical oddity in his career with the utopian twist of opportune comebacks.
The Ultimate ICC event player. Shikhar Dhawan is the individual equivalent of the Australian team post the 1999 World Cup - regardless of merit or form, he has a knack of attaining his peak form just before World events. Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, things are no different. After a couple of months where he just about managed to hold on to his place in the side, Dhawan was in explosive form during his side's admirable IPL 2019 campaign, ending up as his side's highest run-scorer in the tournament just ahead of the World Cup. In India's 2015 World Cup campaign, Dhawan was India's highest run-getter with 412 runs, scoring at an average in excess of 50, with two crucial knocks in pressure games against major teams - 137 against South Africa, and a useful 73 against Pakistan. With the 2019 World Cup around the corner, Dhawan, who has consistently performed in ICC events, starting from the Junior World Cup in 2004, until the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, is bound to be an asset to the Indian team in the 2019 World Cup and possibly a key player in their set-up at the top of the order to lay the foundation for a third title.


