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Xtra Time Web Desk: Shikhar Dhawan loves twirling his moustache as much as he enjoys his cut shots. It is a delight to watch the Delhi batsman in full flow. The flamboyant batsman with his powerful stroke play has created his own identity in the Indian team. India has a phenomenal opening pair ever since Dhawan started opening the batting with Rohit Sharma against South Africa in Champions Trophy 2013. But an injury riddled 2019 along with a sudden loss of form to Dhawan allowed the Indian think tank to try KL Rahul at the top. The batsman from Bangalore has grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he along with Rohit averaged 92.3 per stand in ODIs from 10 outings in 2019.

Dhawan though made a strong comeback at the start of the year with scores of 74 and 96 in the first two ODIs against Australia, but an injury to left shoulder during the 3rd ODI at Chinnaswamy ruled him out for the tour of New Zealand. The senior player has created a good headache for the team management.

Specially in the T20 format Rahul, Rohit and Kohli seem to be the ideal top three for India, with each of them capable of playing the long innings and unleashing the big shots when required. And Rahul can keep wickets as well providing the team management with an extra option. The Karnataka batsman can also be a good middle-order option alongside Iyer, with both being good players of spin and having the ability to counter-attack if needed. Rahul usually loses out to Dhawan for the opening slot in ODIs but in the T20Is, the wicketkeeper-batsman is making a mark.

Born in a Punjabi family in Delhi, Dhawan took his early cricket lessons at the Sonnet Club under the guidance of Coach Tarak Sinha who had the reputation of producing 12 international cricketers. The 34-year-old Dhawan first came into limelight when he scored three centuries in the 2004 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He was the Player of the Tournament scoring 505 runs at an average of 84.16.

However, it took him a long while (9 first class seasons to be precise) to make it to the Indian team as his Delhi teammates Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag opened the batting for India. When the opportunity did arrive against Australia during the third test at Mohali in 2012-13, he blazed his way to the fastest Test century by a debutant. He smashed 187 off 174 balls. He made his test debut in his ninth year of first class cricket after he had been written off by almost everybody.

Following his good run, Dhawan was picked in India's squad for the 2013 Champions Trophy. He ended up being the player of the series with 363 runs in five matches at an outstanding average of 90. He hit two centuries in the tournament and was credited for India’s success in the tournament. Dhawan’s form in the global tournaments has been impeccable. He was the highest scorer in each of the last five multi-team ODI tournaments for India: 2013 Champions Trophy 2013, 2014 Asia Cup, 2015 World Cup 2015, 2017 Champions Trophy and Asia Cup 2018. He was unfortunately injured and was ruled out mid way into the 2019 World Cup. He got a hairline fracture in his thumb while scoring a century against Australia at the Oval.

Dhawan’s form in white ball hasn’t quite reflected in the longer format. He has struggled for form in the longer format, with some small chinks in his armour such as the tendency of poking outside off and playing beside the line of the ball at all times rather than over it. With the forced break due to COVID-19, fans will be expecting Shikhar Dhawan to come out all guns blazing.