"Shikhar Dhawan was a great leader": Vikram Rathour

India opener Shikhar Dhawanrsquos retirement from all forms of cricket may have surprised former national selector Vikram Rathour who until recently was Indiarsquos batting coach But going by what Rathour said about the southpawrsquos pragmatic attitude the decision to call it quits could well have been expected tooRathour was the North Zone selector when Dhawan nicknamed Gabbar was picked to represent India in the third Test of the 201213 series against Australia at MohaliRathour the former India opener recalled witnessing Dhawanrsquos Test debut century against Australia at Mohali in 201213 along with then chief selector Sandeep Patil ldquoIt 187 was a phenomenal innings I remember we laughing because he scored a runaball 100 or even better than that I remember him playing a reverse sweep when he was on 90 It was surprising to see somebody who was playing his first Test against a big team play like that He was very fearless which was great to see and that is how he played throughout his careerrdquo Rathour told midday from JalandharAlso ReadParis Olympics 2024 Sarabjot opens up about minimal training with Manu before mixed air pistol finalSandeep Patil and Vikram RathourRathour also called Dhawan a great captain ldquoShikhar was captain of the Indian team in Sri Lanka Bangladesh and West Indies He kept the atmosphere very light I remember he making someone like head coach Rahul Dravid participate in a reel He is the only guy I can think of who could get Dravid to do something like thatldquoShikhar was a senior guy in the team and a great leader The team was really happy under him He kept the dressing room very lively and enjoyable He captained the team the way he played his cricket which was about performing and not worrying about anything elserdquo added RathourMeanwhile Patil was convinced about Dhawanrsquos ability and picked him midseries The batsman to get dropped was Virender Sehwag who had scored only 27 in three innings during the first two Tests of that BorderGavaskar Trophy series ldquoShikhar had form going for him You have to pick players at the right time when they are among the runs There are various examples of young players not being picked when they have runs to back them and if they donrsquot get picked they feel very disappointed and that is not a good thing Yes I had to press for his inclusion and I am so glad he didnrsquot let me downrdquo said PatilldquoAs I close this chapter of my cricketing journey I carry with me countless memories and gratitude Thank you for the love and support Jai Hind Itrsquos important to turn the page to move forward in life and thatrsquos why I am announcing my retirement from international cricketrdquo Dhawan 38 said in a post on XDhawan scored 2315 runs in 34 Tests 6793 runs in 167 ODIs and 1759 runs in 68 T20Is He has captained Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPLWith inputs from Clayton MurzelloHero of multination tournaments2004U19 World Cup Player of the Tournament2013 Champions Trophy Player of the Tournament2014Asia Cup Topscorer for India2015 ODI World Cup Topscorer for India2017Champions Trophy Topscorer2018Asia Cup Player of the Tournament