A Dhawan-less ODI World Cup!

Less than four years ago when Shikhar Dhawan seeming to defy mortality hit his third World Cup century to set up Indiarsquos magnificent 36run victory over the then defending champions Australia none could dare to look beyond him for the opening setup This was his 17th overall hundred in the ODI format and by this time he had already become a raging whiteball forceBut how good was he In the ten World Cup matches that he has featured so far Dhawan amassed 537 runs at an average of 5370 with three hundreds under his belt Having been ruled out of the 2019 edition after only two matches the twotime ICC Player of the Tournament rose to prominence once again with a matchwinning century against Australia at The OvalDhawan made his ODI debut in 2010 after which he accompanied the team on a couple of IndiaA tours abroad particularly to the West Indies But nothing reaped dividends runs were hard to come by Even in domestic firstclass cricket he failed to gather the requisite number of runs to throw the Indian openers off their perch ndash not until they collapsed themselvesAlso Read An opening pair like no otherBut giving up was not an option for Indiarsquos very own lsquoGabbarrsquo In March 2013 Dhawan in his Test debut against Australia smashed a belligerent 187 off 174 balls with 33 boundaries and two sixes against an attack that comprised Mitchell Starc Peter Siddle Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty His brutal 85ball 100 was the fastest by a debutant and powered India to a sixwicket win in MohaliThat innings in Mohali will always be a reminder of his mental strength It is not an easy task to dust off heartbreaks on the field and pick yourself up again But Dhawan did it umpteen number of times and pounced on the second chance with all his mightCut to present Dhawan is yet to play an ODI this year after having last represented India in the format in December 2022 against Bangladesh He failed to excel in the threematch series managing to score 18 runs in total With youngster Shubman Gill taking over the realms of ODI cricket alongside captain and batting mainstay Rohit Sharma Dhawanrsquos comeback plans are in a spot of bother Gillrsquos staggering numbers in ODI cricket back up that claim quite emphatically His pinpoint consistency with the willow made him firmly cement his place at the top of the orderGill added 624 runs from nine games to his name at a stunning average of 78 and an exceptional strike rate of 1175 including a double ton against New Zealand Dhawan on the other hand on a comparative view amassed 688 runs from 22 ODI he played last year at a belowpar average of 344 The drop in his strike rate from 938 before 2022 to a lowly 742 was particularly noticeableInterestingly Gill kicked off his opening stint in ODIs alongside the very man whom he has now replaced In fact in their first four instances of opening the innings together the duo registered three century stands with their overall opening stand average standing at 762 from 11 innings in total Throughout last year Gill blossomed as Dhawanrsquos form dipped Yet a little hope never hurtsldquoThey Rohit and Dhawan have both done a brilliant job together I think in world cricket they are third or fourth sic fourth highest in ODIs as an opening pair and Rohit believes that if someone is consistently performing or has done really well over the years you canrsquot just discard him Rohit definitely gives you that cushion and itrsquos a good thing kyunki ICC events ki baat karein toh wahan pe thoda experience zaroor chahiyerdquo former India cricketer and the member of IPL Governing Council Pragyan Ojha was quoted as saying on Glance Honestly Dhawan might not be the dashing hero that we Indians see in Kohli or Rohit But can we dare to deny that he has given the team some amount of stability when it was in dire straits Certainly notDhawanrsquos approach towards cricket is based on the oldfashioned principle of keeping your wickets till the end and then stepping on the gas In his best years as an ODI batsman the 37yearold did his best to frustrate the opposition before he launched a sudden attack Indeed there is a saying that a players mistakes tend to be more memorable than their achievements This adage rings true in the case of Dhawan