Ex-BCCI selector reveals how Shikhar Dhawan replaced a fading Virender Sehwag in the Indian team: 'We couldn't believe it...'

Shikhar Dhawan has officially announced his retirement from both international and domestic cricket without any fanfare or commotion. Over the past decade, Dhawan has made a significant impact on the world of cricket, starting his career at the age of 27 and quickly becoming one of India's greatest ODI players. Despite the spotlight often being on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Dhawan played a crucial role in India's ODI success from June 2013 to June 2023. His debut in 2010 may have started off with a duck, but it was his explosive Test debut against Australia in 2013 that truly solidified his reputation as the 'Gabbar' of Indian cricket. Teaming up with Rohit as India's opening pair, Dhawan helped propel the team to new heights by scoring runs consistently across different countries. His contributions to Indian batting will be remembered for years to come.

However, did you know that Dhawan nearly didn't make it to that Playing XI in Mohali had it not been for a certain former BCCI selector? Sandeep Patil, the then chairman of selectors had seen Virender Sehwag fading – he had scored just 27 runs from three innings in that Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – heading into the 3rd Test at Mohali. Not many would have dared to drop Sehwag but realising how crucial the future was for Indian cricket, Patil pushed Dhawan into the squad. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"Shikhar 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 don't 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 didn’t let me down," Patil told Mid-Day.

'We were laughing', says Vikram Rathour

Dhawan established himself as one of the pillars of Indian batting, beginning that cold morning in Mohali, when he blasted the fastest century by a batter on debut – 85 balls. This was the Australian team we're talking about, on one of India's better pitches for cricket. As Dhawan struck a memorable 187, in hindsight, it was only fitting to see one explosive batter replace another.

Sehwag never played for India again, but Dhawan carved his own legacy through that breathtaking knock at the PCA stadium. As he bludgeoned the Australian bowling attack to all corners of the ground, everyone, including selectors, were shellshocked. Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who was the selector for North Zone, recalled watching Dhawan take full flight against the Aussies, and his perspective is as engaging as that knock 11 years ago.

"It [187] was a phenomenal innings. I remember we were laughing because he scored a run-a-ball 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 career," Rathour told the daily.

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