Shikhar Dhawan, a Modern Day Great Fades Away after Giving so Many Memories

A batting average of 59 in 2021 and 34 in 2022 is pretty good but turns out it is not enough for Shikhar Dhawan, a lynchpin of the Indian batting line-up for a decade to make the World Cup squad.

Almost ten years since Shikhar Dhawan broke into the scene, the day where he along with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gave a glimpse of the next decade of Indian batting was seen. At Jaipur, facing an imposing target of 360, Shikhar Dhawan was quick to get off the blocks with 95 off 86. He was the one to start the chase while Rohit Sharma slowly got himself in before accelerating himself while Virat Kohli joined the party with a 52 ball 100, the fastest by an Indian Cricketer.

India chased down the target with 39 balls to go as the three batters provided a change in intent in Indian batting. From there on the template was set. Shikhar Dhawan was the one to get off the blocks quickly, opening the off-side nicely while Rohit Sharma settled into his innings, taking his time, which is probably why he had all those daddy hundreds.

Ten years later, India head into the World Cup, and Shikhar Dhawan will not be with Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma for the big event. A modern-day great, Shikhar Dhawan has made over 6000 ODI runs at a strike rate of 91 and an average of 44. He has been out of the side since the Bangladesh tour at the end of last year, with Shubman Gill coming out as one of the best openers in the circuit at the moment.

He was a regular up until then, leading India when Rohit Sharma was absent, but a series with poor scores ended up having him go out. His entry though is remembered well. After making a rapid 187 on debut, Shikhar Dhawan made a comeback to the ODI side after a forgettable debut in 2011. He had a good time in the IPL and later played a starring role in the champions trophy cementing his spot until the 2019 World Cup.

Up until then, the batting line-up was heavily reliant on the trio of Dhawan, Rohit, and Virat, and with an inconsistent middle-order one of the three was often tasked with batting deep into the innings. The trio had their roles with Dhawan taking the job of going for quick runs up front, scoring at faster rates than Rohit Sharma.

The opening pair of Dhawan and Rohit thrived with Dhawan’s faster starts as it allowed both batters to play to their strengths, which is possibly why Rohit has more centuries than Dhawan. In the 2019 World Cup, Rohit Sharma went on to have possibly his best tournament with five centuries while Dhawan had to go home with a fractured thumb as he made his way to a match-winning hundred against Australia. He managed only two games and was on his way back.

The century though was his sixth in ICC events, highlighting his value at the big stage. In 2015 as well, Dhawan came into the tournament with terrible form behind him. He struggled in Australia and England before the World Cup. Come the World Cup though and Dhawan was a different batter with two centuries in the tournament. He made a career out of showing up during ICC tournaments and was India’s man for those moments.

Returns though began to diminish after 2019. He scored consistently but the strike-rate and big scores came down. Age potentially could have caught up to a batter highly reliant on hand-eye coordination. With Dhawan dropping out, Gill got his moment. With Gill in and with changes in ODI Cricket Rohit Sharma too has changed his style a touch. Rather than starting slow and steady he has been a lot faster up front. As a result, though the big scores have come down and Rohit too has struggled to get to the 3-figure mark after the 2019 World Cup consistently.

The role of the opening accumulator has gone away, leaving no room for Dhawan at the top. His exclusion though still remains debatable. An ICC tournament great who averages 44 and is still very athletic in the field can be very tough to leave out. Situations though leave him out as Dhawan fades away without actually having gone away. Interestingly though, the top-order now is going based on his playbook during his peak years. After paving the way to a faster opening partnership following Virender Sehwag, India finally move beyond another wonderful opener who has given a generation a lot of memories throughout his career.