Despite many ups and downs on and off the field, Shikhar Dhawan has never lost a deeper sense of calmness about him. And the cricketer says regularly practising spirituality and keeping negative thoughts at bay has really helped him to tide through the difficult phases and give his best for India.
“I learnt it through spirituality,”
he told the press, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, when asked for the secret behind his calm demeanour amidst question marks on his place as a one-format specialist, approaching the deeper side of thirties.
”You need to practice [having a calm mindset] just like you practice cricket.”
Beyond his public persona as a happy-go-lucky individual, his teammates sing praises of Dhawan’s sensitiveness and great understanding of life. The 36-year-old may be entertaining fans with funny reels over social media and dancing to tunes, but he is a quiet personality off the field and a deep thinker of things outside the cricket field.
“It’s something I try and pass on to the youngsters as well. As cricketers, we are all living our dream, and if you don’t live happily [despite that], what’s the point? It’s small things like these. I don’t try and let negativity seep in. I try to be positive always,”
he said.
A positive mindset would’ve come in handy for Dhawan in this phase of his cricketing career. A player with 34 Tests and 68 T20I caps, he is now an ODI specialist who is active sporadically in the days when the format is facing a challenge of existence and has to still perform consistently in a set-up of unprecedented depth, with young players breathing down his neck.
Ever since coming back with an injured thumb from the 2019 World Cup in UK, the left-hander has averaged 48.23 for 1,013 runs across 23 ODI innings for India. Dhawan has had a dip in strike-rate to 85.34 in his phase but that is a direct byproduct of dwindling game time in the middle. In the recent 3-0 series win over the West Indies, he made 168 runs with two half-centuries and emerged as the second highest run-getter after fellow opener Shubman Gill.
Dhawan said he loves the 50-over game since its intricacies test the players’ range in different phases of the innings and allow for traditional skills to come to the fore, unlike the T20 game.
Looking forward to the Zimbabwean challenge, the veteran batter said it augurs well for the Indians that their opponents have had some timely resurgence on the field since that will help keep the leniency at bay. The Chevrons are heading for the India series after unexpectedly dominating Bangladesh 2-1 in a three-match rubber in home conditions.
“It’s good they won against Bangladesh. I’m sure they’re playing good cricket. It’s good for us, because it will keep us on our toes. We can’t take anything for granted or lightly. We’re here to perform against a good team. It’s always about the process,”
said Dhawan, who is making a return to Zimbabwe after nine years.
When he last turned out in the country, the player, rallying on his success at the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, produced a match-winning 116 in the second ODI in Harare.
Dhawan backed KL Rahul to produce the goods after being replaced at the helm by the comeback man and had words of consolation to offer for spin allrounder Washington Sundar as he is ruled out with a shoulder injury.
The tour kicks-off on August 18, with the second and third ODI scheduled on August 20 and 22. The three-match series is part of the ICC Super League.
