Very few people have justified their names as well as Shikhar Dhawan has. Shikhar in Hindi means the peak – of a mountain. A mountain of runs in his case. Shikhar’s journey to the position he currently holds was not easy, especially with circumstances not being under his control.
Shikhar had an early and fruitful start to his career – emerging as a consistent player for Delhi in his Under-16 days. In his second season of the Vijay Merchant Trophy, he became the highest run-getter, with 756 runs, two centuries and a top score of 199. In the next two years, Shikhar went on to score runs in bulk and made sure he secured a spot in India’s squad for 2004 Under-19 World Cup.
This came as a brilliant opportunity to Shikhar, and he did not let the selectors down. Even though India darted out of the tournament in the semi-final, Shikhar remained the top-scorer with 505 runs from seven innings, at an average of 84.16 and with a highest score of 155 not-out.
The world applauded Shikhar’s talent; the spotlight was on the Delhi boy but something that Shikhar did not have in his favour was a spot in the national team. With Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar holding the two opening positions in limited-overs format, it became nearly impossible for Shikhar to get through to the senior team.
However, his form in the domestic circuit kept him in contention for the senior team. Shikhar had a brilliant debut in Ranji Trophy, emerging as Delhi’s highest scorer with 461 runs. He became a regular name in the practice matches for visiting teams and made every chance count. Despite deserving a place in the squad, India’s problem of plenty delayed Shikhar’s debut – but he did not let that affect his performance.
With Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar available for the opening spot, Shikhar made the cut to the ODI side in 2010. However, he scored his maiden half-century in his second ODI, in West Indies.
2013 remained a milestone year in Shikhar’s career – as he made his Test debut after an impressive domestic season. Shikhar scored a match-winning 187 after Australia’s 408, at a strike rate over 100. He became India’s first-choice opener in their victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign, emerging as the top-scorer with 363 runs at an average of 90.75 and strike rate of 101.39; his chronicles included centuries at Cardiff and Kennington Oval. Shikhar scored three more ODI centuries that year, cementing his spot in the limited overs.
Shikhar remained a key player in India’s journey in the 2015 ICC World Cup. In the high-intensity India-Pakistan match, Shikhar provided India a solid start with his 73, while he scored his then ODI career-best 137 against South Africa in the following match. His second century of the tournament came against Ireland. Shikhar finished as India’s highest run-getter – with 412 runs. He became India’s go-to opener in limited-overs, eventually becoming the second-fastest of the country to reach 5,000 ODI runs.
Shikhar has shown strong presence in IPL consistently. With over 400 runs scored in the last three consecutive IPL seasons, Shikhar eyes yet another successful season. Sitting at the peak, on top of order and form, Shikhar will be one of Delhi Capitals’ most dependable batsmen in IPL 2019.
