There had been a sudden shift in focus from India’s win in its 500th Test to one man in the Indian camp. The country has been talking about Gautam Gambhir, the feisty opener who at 34, returned to the national fold after two years.
Lokesh Rahul’s hamstring injury ruled him out of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, and opened the backdoor for Gambhir. With Murali Vijay almost assured of the other opener’s spot, only one of Shikhar Dhawan or Gambhir could play.
Amidst the chaos of all the attention on Gambhir and the second opening spot, it was Dhawan who would have had sleepless nights. A variety of thoughts would have fogged his mind – would Gambhir get game time? If he would, how would he fare?
Dhawan was dropped for the fourth Test in the West Indies. He did not play the first against the Kiwis. And now, he had to face the pressure of an experienced colleague being called up to compete for his place when he should have ideally been Vijay’s regular opening partner. A lot had changed for Dhawan since the Caribbean trip. And the change had been building for a while. In fact, the change has made him unrecognisable since he first settled into the Indian team.
This Dhawan couldn’t be recognised
Dhawan, in his current avatar – struggling to build a relationship with the red cherry, which has resulted in a lack of runs – and a mind full of worry, walked out with Vijay at the Eden Gardens on Friday morning. The walk to the wicket was not as boastful, but the typical Dhawan strut was there. The fist pump was in place. He even took first strike, like he usually does. But along with all of it, fear was there too.
There was fear of losing his place in the side to his senior Delhi teammate, of being dismissed cheaply, of attempting a false shot and, maybe, of playing a shot at all. Of the nine balls he faced, from Trent Boult and Matt Henry, he shouldered arms to seven. The tenth ball was back of a length and close to the off-stump. An in-form Dhawan would have cut it viciously. But this Dhawan was tentative and nervous.
Dhawan had hardly got bat to ball until now, and he was not in the mood to do it now, either. But instinct forced him to, while his form and momentum were not ready. All he could manage was a shuffle at the crease and an angled-bat back-foot poke at the Matt Henry delivery. It was a shot that deserved no more than the bat’s inside-edge, which it dutifully found en route crashing onto his stumps.
One half of Dhawan’s comeback was over before it had even felt at home. It had lasted for lesser time than what the pre-match hype surrounding Gambhir’s return had prevailed for. And Gambhir did not even play the second Test against the Kiwis. But Dhawan had, and he had failed. He had left the door ajar for Gambhir to complete his return by figuring in the third Test.
The superlative rise...and the fall
It is a door Dhawan had kept shut for the last three years. For Gambhir, for Rahul, for everyone. If there was a weakness in the opening pair of Dhawan and Vijay during the first year or so of their partnership, it was the latter.
After nine years of first-class cricket, at the age of 27, Dhawan first donned the Indian whites. He had always been a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket. But in the domestic season leading up to his first Test, he was exceptional. He had scored runs almost every time he walked out to bat. Followers of Indian domestic cricket had watched in awe. And then, the world was awe-struck as he announced himself with the fastest Test century for a debutant against Australia.
The annihilation of the visiting Australians in Mohali also brought along with it the famous twirl of the moustache. It was a twirl that would be imitated by fans and teammates alike. It would become Dhawan’s trademark on scoring a century. He carried his form and the moustache twirl into the Champions Trophy, and almost every game he played since his debut. While Vijay would partner him in Tests, Rohit Sharma would walk out with him to open in the one-dayers. His presence, however, was consistent at the top across the three formats.
But then India visited England and Australia in 2014. He had scored a century in the Auckland Test earlier in the year, but was a walking wicket on the following two Test tours. The One Day International format remained his redeemer, though. He found runs in the ODIs in England and amassed 412 runs during India’s run to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
Dhawan remained disconnected against the red cherry. A 175 against Bangladesh at Fatullah and a 134 against Sri Lanka at Galle were the only two centuries he scored in the white flannels since the struggle had commenced.
After his first innings failure in Kolkata, it is 13 innings since Dhawan’s last Test century. And the clock is ticking for him now. Rahul has been in sublime form, Vijay has been consistent and Gambhir could make the scenario even more competitive if given a chance during this long Indian summer of Test cricket.
Only one way out: keep fighting
If Dhawan does fall off the Test radar, he could remain as India’s opener in the ODI format alone. He is ranked the world’s eighth best batsman in the 50-over format, and is still twirling his moustache in it. But like the Test team, he has already been resigned to the bench in the Twenty20 International side. Ajinkya Rahane, post his success at the top in the Indian Premier League, has taken over lately.
Thus, from being India’s opener across formats, Dhawan could end up being a one-format man, unless he decides to fight. Like he did for 81 first-class games before donning the Indian Test cap for the first time.
It was the lobby of the Rajkot hotel in which the teams were put up. Late in September 2012, the teams had gathered for the Challenger Trophy. Dhawan was in the India A side. On the eve of the first game, he was asked what motivated him to pile runs in the domestic circuit, season after season, despite the settled pair of Virender Sehwag and Gambhir making it difficult for him to break into the national side?
“I only think of what is in my hands, bhaiya,” he smiled. “Scoring runs is. That is why I want to score as much as possible. Eventually, my turn will come.” He scored 99, 152 and 61 in the three games that tournament. And eventually, his turn with the Indian team came.
As a possible exile from the longest and shortest format of the game looms, Dhawan must once again promise to fight. To score runs. And to eventually earn his turn back.