Over the course of its 90-year worldwide cricket historical past, Team India has progressed from being the final word underdog to producing among the world’s high cricketers, blessed with absolute grace with the willow or bamboozling with the bowl. India has by no means been wanting cricketing expertise or star energy. Every decade produced a number of abilities, together with CK Nayadu, Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli.
One such star Shikhar Dhawan, among the best openers India have produced, turned 38 on Tuesday. Dhawan final performed for India a yr in the past, when he appeared in an ODI sequence in Bangladesh. This shall be Dhawan’s first birthday with out the rigours and delights of worldwide cricket in his on a regular basis routine within the final 13 years. (Happy Birthday Shikhar Dhawan: Story Of How He Fell In Love With Estranged Wife Aesha Mukerji And What Went Wrong – In Pics)
Dhawan, who jostled with the likes of his Delhi mates Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for the opening slot, acquired the chance of a lifetime when he was paired with Rohit Sharma on the high of the order for ICC Champions Trophy 2013. The pairing modified the careers of each batters, as they emerged as two of the deadliest willow-wielders in world cricket.
The last World Cup innings of Shikhar Dhawan.
 He scored an iconic hundred in opposition to Australia with a damaged thumb however sadly he was dominated out of the remainder of the match. pic.twitter.com/gCGKd2Yyo9
 Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 5, 2023
While Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma accrued record-breaking double tons, mesmerised crowds together with his sixes and competed with Virat Kohli by way of statistics and shotmaking, Shikhar nonetheless dominated the opening slot and was a darling of the followers for his batting exploits and the trademark twirl of his moustache, incomes him the nickname ‘Gabbar’. However, he was slowly lowered to quantity 3 within the pecking order, as the recognition of Rohit and Kohli soared. (Sourav Ganguly Clears Air On His Role In Virat Kohli Stepping Down From Team India Captaincy, Says,’ He Was Not Interested…,’)
After that includes in his final Test in 2018, Dhawan turned completely a white-ball cricketer. Competition from KL Rahul and his age made issues harder for him to carry on to his place in white-ball cricket. Though he nonetheless performs white-ball cricket, he’s not the primary alternative each time, typically stepping in because of the absence of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. He is usually assigned to guide the subsequent technology of Indian cricketers and share with them the expertise he has attained in his 12-year profession.
Dhawan performed a significant function in India’s 2013 Champions Trophy triumph. He topped the batting charts within the showpiece occasion, profitable the ‘Man of the Tournament’ award. In 5 matches, he scored 363 runs at a mean of 90.75, with two centuries and one fifty. His greatest rating was 114.
Though India’s 50-over World Cup title defence stopped on the semifinal in 2015, ‘Gabbar’ nonetheless received many hearts together with his batting performances, massively outdoing each Rohit and Virat. In eight matches, he aggregated 412 runs at a mean of 51.50, with two centuries and one fifty. He completed the occasion as India’s high scorer and general, the fifth-highest scorer within the match.
It was the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy that noticed Dhawan return to prime kind. In India’s runner-up end, it was Dhawan who topped the match’s batting charts in one more ICC match. He scored 338 runs in 5 matches at a mean of 67.60, with one century and two fifties, with a greatest rating of 125. In India’s 2018 Asia Cup win, Shikhar impressed as soon as once more, serving to India clinch their seventh title. In 5 matches, he scored 342 runs at a mean of 68.40, with two centuries.
