The metamorphosis of Shikhar Dhawan

“Where there is a will, there is a way” may be an ancient adage but it never loses its truth. Ask Team India’s latest batting sensation-Shikhar ‘Dabanng’ Dhawan. For close to a decade, following his exploits in U19 cricket, Dhawan had waited for his Test debut.

With Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag malfunctioning game after game, India’s opening combination appeared to be a problem without a solution in sight. Imposing the perform or perish mantra, the selectors axed the under-performing seniors. Then, into Test cricket, came Shikhar Dhawan as if he was weaving his way through the traffic in his hometown Delhi with loud, thumping music and sunglasses on. He slipped into Sehwag’s shoes with electrifying emergency, walloping the fastest hundred ever on Test debut, and against the Aussies no less.

In his early days, Dhawan was a brash batsman, often guilty of throwing his wicket away after earning bright starts. Bedeviled by inconsistency and mental frailty, the southpaw flattered only to deceive. His first class career graph highlights a string of big scores followed by prolonged barren patches. The younger Dhawan, according to his school coach, Madan Sharma, was a careless batsman, who had a ‘lift-maar-ke-out’( lofting and getting out) approach towards batting. Experts had written him off, labeling him another case of talent sans temperament.

Refusing to yield, Dhawan reinvented his batting and strengthened his temperament to book his Test debut against the Aussies in the third Test of the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Series at Mohali.

Dhawan Version 2.0 was never going to miss out. Oozing the confidence of having played 100 Tests, the 27-year-old stroked his way to 187 from only 174 balls, sending the Australian bowlers on a leather hunt. He was ably complemented by another attractive batsman, Murali Vijay. Dhawan’s stroke range was incredible, no less than 33 fours and 2 sixes stemming from his ruthless blade. Twirling his macho moustache like a Bollywood action star, Dabangg Dhawan finally arrived on the biggest stage, powering India to a famous six-wicket win despite rain washing out the entire first day.

However, a cruel quirk of fate in the form of a fractured left hand ruled him out for 6 weeks. He came back hungrier, imparting the much-needed fillip to Sunrisers Hyderabad‘s promising IPL campaign.

A much bigger challenge was awaiting Dhawan and his team in the alien, swinging conditions of England and Wales- the ICC Champions Trophy. India picked up morale-boosting victories in both their warm-up fixtures, but Dhawan’s technique was once again under the scanner. While he was run-out for 1 in the first game, he was bounced out by Mitchell Johnson for 17 in the next, piling up the pressure on the lower middle order.

Brushing aside the glitches in the practice matches, Dhawan, embracing the challenge, cracked a superlative 114 to set up India’s facile triumph at Cardiff in the tournament opener. It was a special innings in more ways than one. Dhawan’s maturity and pragmatism came to the fore. He treated the new ball with respect, even prepared to leave balls outside off-stump like a left-handed Rahul Dravid. Having seen off Morne Morkel’s testing spell, he took advantage of the exaggerated short balls supplied by other bowlers. Dhawan’s uncanny ability to shift gears at will makes him a precious asset.

He had earlier been part of five ODIs before fading into the oblivion. But he truly did rise to the occasion this time.

He summoned the courage to mimic the two-step march and lofted shot that Sourav Ganguly patented during his heydays. The crisp drives, reminiscent of Kumar Sangakkara, were counterbalanced by the powerful pulls. One could not help but wonder if Adam Gilchrist had switched bodies when Dhawan was executing the full-blooded pulls.

If Dhawan continues to fire, there is no reason why India cannot add another piece of silverware to their treasure chest. The ODI champions could arguably reclaim the Test crown too.