I was going through the media’s coverage of the fine victory for India over South Africa in the opening match of on-going Champions Trophy.
One and all, especially the print media, have highlighted the superb performance of Shikhar Dhawan, underlining the fact that he scored 114 valuable runs and this happens to be his first century in one-day cricket.
This was almost along the lines of another splendid innings he had played against Australia in a Test match a few months back.
This victory will certainly boost the morale of Indian squad for the next match to be played against West Indies on Tuesday.
This firebrand batting by Dhawan is commendable. Also, Shikhar means summit, and if he continues to repeat the same performance frequently, he will prove true to his name.
One of my friends who has got tremendous faith in Dhawan was delighted while explaining the level of confidence, aggression and the bold stroke making which Dhawan demonstrated during few of his recent performances.
But how good is he really?
It is very difficult to deny that at times, Dhawan appears to be a perfect batsman. Stylish and moody – he shows complete control over his batting and rhythm.
A few others term this as an amazing performance. Agreed.
Also, as a personal achievement, Dhawan became the third batsman after former great opener Srikkanth and MS Dhoni to complete 100 runs in less than 100 balls in two formats of the game, Test match and ODI cricekt.
However, if you notice closely, both his recent centuries came against bowling attacks not at their peak.
His century against Australia was made against an already depleted and deflated attack who knew they had virtually lost the series.
Again, his century against South Africa came at a time when Steyn was not playing and Morkel was not fully fit. This tells us something, doesn’t it?
Also, there is something else which bothers many of us and this is perhaps the reason that Dhawan normally gets appreciation and criticism at the same time.
In one innings, it appears that he has got full control over the game, the way he executes the shots in an immaculate copybook style.
But as soon as we expect another good performance, we strangely find that he is nowhere near the expectations.
His style, grip, confidence totally vanishes and he acts as a total naïve as far as the game is concerned. Very often he gives away wicket so cheaply!
Possibly, this is the reason that he is neither treated as a gentleman cricketer, nor is a favourite of many, despite the fact that he has been there for quite a long period of time.
He has been given an enormous amount of chances to mark a permanent place in the squad but I really do not realise what exactly seems missing.
To me sometimes it appears that Dhawan himself is not very clear about the goals and the correct path to be taken for the fruitful utilisation of the skills he has got.
The point at issue here is not precisely the lack of consistency, but the concerned viewers also at times point out the temperament, re liability, shaken confidence, and even a careless/arrogant attitude adopted by Dhawan.
Many believe that it is a specific set of conditions under which Dhawan’s shining performance is seen.
However, the inconsistency or even apparently low morale tantamount to a kind of hype Dhawan is riding on.
To date, he has not proved trustworthy as a Raina or Virat Kohli, even in IPL.
I strongly believe that if nourished under the appropriate conditions and dedicated professional coaching (a bit of counseling too if needed!), he can still do miracles in the future.
I regret if my opinion hurts but then we all love him as the capabilities seem endless. Good luck, intend to see you scaling the summit.
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