Shikhar Dhawan celebrates after scoring his 25th first-class hundred. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)Shikhar Dhawan, a veteran of 34 Tests, last played a Test match for the Indian team in mid-2018. However, the opening batsman has not given up on making a comeback to the national team and is looking at the upcoming opportunities to plot his return.
“I am not a part of the Test team but that does not mean I have given up all hopes of a comeback,” Dhawan told TV channels during an interaction.
“Whenever I got an opportunity… like in the Ranji Trophy last year I scored a century, then I made a comeback into the one-day team, if I get an opportunity then why not, of course,” PTI quoted him as saying.
Dhawan, who holds the record for the fastest Test century by a debutant, was overlooked for the likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw, as he struggled for consistency.
But Dhawan wants to keep trying his best. “The T20 World Cup is there next year, so I need to keep performing, keep myself fit, make runs consistently.
“If I keep doing these, other things will automatically fall into place.”
So far in the 34 Tests he has played, Dhawan has scored 2,315 runs with seven centuries at an average of 40.61.
Dhawan’s next target is IPL 2020 where he will turn out for Delhi Capitals.
“It’s important we bond together and create that energy. We have a very balanced side and confident we will take the cup.”
“Shreyas led the team pretty well last year, this time Ajinkya has come in, Ashwin has come in, they are quite experienced players and I am sure they are going to share their insights.”
Asked if he ever feared of not returning to playing cricket owing to pandemic, Dhawan said, “I have full faith in my body, was never apprehensive about playing. I know I can still get the disease but I can fight it.
“But we are definitely following the safety guidelines, we have done the COVID test almost almost 8-9 times.
“We have to keep wearing a specific badge, our movements are restricted. It’s a huge thing that the BCCI is able to organise the tournament in this situation.”
Dhawan was also asked about the pros and cons of playing the IPL in the current scenario.
“The advantage of less travelling is that the body will tire less, the recovery will be good.
“But when a player is faring well or doing badly there will be no outlet as he is not allowed to go outside and divert his mind. We have to be mentally very strong.”
(With inputs from PTI)