Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most destructive opening batsmen in world cricket, across all three formats of the game. In the last 5 years or so, Dhawan has worked extremely hard on his batting and established himself as one of the important members of Indian cricket team.
In this post, The Cricket Lounge’s Divey Chawla lists some of the unknown facts about Delhi’s destructive dasher Shikhar Dhawan.
1. Shikhar Dhawan Wanted To Become A Wicketkeeper
Dhawan’s coach Tarak Sinha once said in an interview that the Delhi dasher wanted to become a wicketkeeper.
“Shikhar always had the talent but more than anything had the guts. Not many people know that he was a wicketkeeper when he first came under my guidance. I realized he is special when as a 12 year-old, he scored a hundred in an U-15 school tournament.”
2. Shikhar Dhawan Was On The Verge Of Leaving The Game
Dhawan’s coach Tarak Sinha he was so disappointed that he was on the verge of leaving the game. But, Mr. Sinha, who started coaching Shikhar when he was just 12 years old, kept him motivated to do better.
3. Player Of The Tournament
Shikhar Dhawan was named player of the tournament in the ICC World Cup U19 2003-04. In that tournament, Dhawan scored 505 runs at an average of 84.16 with three hundreds to his credit.
4. Opening Partnership With MS Dhoni
During the Challenger Trophy 2005, Shikhar Dhawan had opened the batting for India Seniors with MS Dhoni. Dhawan, who was just 19 years old at that time, played with a lot of flamboyance and formed a massive partnership with Dhoni.
5. Nicknames
Shikhar Dhawan is called jaat-ji by many of his team-mates.Also, another popular nickname is Gabbar, the famous villain of the Bollywood flick Sholay.
6. India Masters
Before making his international debut, Dhawan played for India Masters even before he had played for India. In a Tsunami Relief Tournament in Abu Dhabi in May 2005, he played alongside many big names from Pakistan.
