Shikhar Dhawan, the former India opener, owes a significant part of his cricketing success to two stalwarts of Indian cricket from Mumbai – Dilip Vengsarkar and Sandeep Patil. These two cricket legends ensured that Dhawan was selected at pivotal moments in his career, highlighting their keen eye for talent and their willingness to make bold decisions.
Both Vengsarkar and Patil, during their tenure as chief national selectors, made strong and sometimes unpopular decisions, but they are still widely appreciated for identifying young talent and picking players at the opportune moment. In early March 2013, it was at Patil’s insistence that Dhawan was selected for India’s squad for the third Test against Australia in Mohali. Replacing the legendary Virender Sehwag, who was then going through a lean patch, Dhawan immediately made his mark by smashing a magnificent 187 runs off just 174 balls, including a blistering 85-ball century – the fastest by any batsman on Test debut.
“You should support a young cricketer who’s in form. Getting the right opportunity at the right time is extremely important. At that point, Shikhar had just returned from India A’s South African tour after scoring a double century and a century there. Unfortunately, we had to make a tough call. All my four co-selectors opposed my decision (to select Dhawan over Sehwag), but ultimately, something good happened. He scored a hundred on his Test debut. It proved that my idea of picking him was right. I don’t want to take credit for this. I give credit to Shikhar because he proved my decision right. He saved me!” Patil told TOI on Sunday.
Years before this, Dhawan first burst onto the scene during the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka, where he emerged as the tournament’s highest run-getter. The left-handed batsman set the event ablaze, amassing 505 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 84.16. Few know that it was Vengsarkar who played a crucial role in Dhawan’s selection for that tournament. Dhawan had initially been dropped by the then India Under-19 selectors due to poor performance in a couple of trial matches in Mumbai.
Recalling that episode, Vengsarkar told TOI: “In 2004, I was the chairman of the BCCI’s TRDW (Talent Research Development Wing), and Jagmohan Dalmiya (then BCCI president) asked me to attend all the selection committee meetings of the India Under-19 team as well. Before the squad was announced, the BCCI had organized two one-day selection trial matches at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which I couldn’t attend due to a prior commitment. When the squad was announced, I noticed Shikhar’s name was missing. I had been watching him since his Under-16 days. When I asked the selectors why he was dropped, I was told that he didn’t score in those two matches. Pushing for his selection, I told them, ‘So what if he failed in these two matches? He’s a good player, just pick him.’ To their credit, the selectors respected my opinion, and Dhawan was picked. He ended up being the highest run-getter of the tournament.
