Shikhar Dhawan – Is he the one?

Just a few days back, Shikhar Dhawan – along with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli – had been nominated for ESPN Cricinfo Awards. But the point at issue today is his repeated recent failure! Honestly, not many fans remember the dasher Shikhar Dhawan who made his debut in Mohali in the test series against Australia. Recently, he has been more of hit and miss – just like an ordinary opening batsman.

Shikhar Dhawan has got a great attitude when he is in form – no one can stop him and he depicts a great level of maturity. He has the capability to read the ball and play the same accordingly. But certainly when he is down, he really throws away his wicket in a careless manner. This inconsistency hampers him a lot. And his last few performances, where he has been seen struggling on the crease, reflect his lost focus and self esteem.

Actually if one digs deep in the background of Shikhar Dhawan, inconsistency has been his major problem throughout. Otherwise, despite being on the fringes of the national team for such a long time and still remaining sidelined for years altogether shows the lack of composure to perform on a regular basis. A few people simply blame it on the carelessness and overconfidence! He has got a strange temperament – I have not seen many batsmen smiling even after cheaply throwing away their wicket!

He must realize that he is already 28 years old and after making his first class debut in year 2004, he had to wait for 9 long years to make a mark. He was about to be forgotten – but got the chance when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed to deliver. Despite hitting a whopping 187 runs on debut, his overall test performances have been poor.

He has got all the necessary ingredients of a good batsman and also happens to be a very good and hard working fielder. His fitness level is superb. He hardly misses any training session. But then it is a very strange phenomenon that prevents him from keeping his consistency. It is really a matter of serious concern, that on many occasions he acts like a naive child and loses his wicket while attempting rash shots.

The batting conditions in New Zealand are not different from the bouncy pitches of South Africa. So it takes a hell lot of concentration and patience to not only save your wicket but also to keep the score board moving.

Thus, we the fans most sincerely desire that Shikhar Dhawan gets serious and takes responsibility. He should come back with his flaunting yet reliable batting – otherwise Team India can manage without anyone. In the absence of many of the former legends, the team is still flourishing. Hope he gets the message loud and clear. Best wishes!