"Always believed that Shikhar Dhawan should play at least 70-80 Test matches in his career" - Childhood coach Madan Sharma
Former India batter Shikhar Dhawan's childhood coach Madan Sharma reckoned the opener had the potential to play 70-80 Test matches. According to Sharma, the left-hander was unlucky as a few injuries hampered his career.
Replacing a struggling Virender Sehwag in the Mohali Test against Australia in 2013, Dhawan created history by hammering the fastest century by a Test debutant. He reached 100 off 85 balls and went on to score 187 off 174 balls.
The southpaw, however, ended up playing only 34 Test matches in his international career, scoring 2315 runs at an average of 40.61, with seven hundreds and five fifties. In an interview with rediff.com, Dhawan's childhood coach Sharma opined that the batter had the potential to play a lot more Test matches for India.
"I always believed that Shikhar should play at least 70-80 Test matches in his career. He had so much potential in his batting," Sharma asserted. "And even in white ball cricket I wanted him to play more than 200 ODIs matches. But maybe in between injuries did hamper his career at times."
Sharma believes things could have been a lot different for Dhawan had injuries not come in the way. Pointing out the multiple fitness setbacks the recently retired cricket suffered during his career, Sharma said:
"In the 2019 World Cup, he was ruled out with injury after playing two games. He was in good form then and had scored a century against Australia which India won but the injury came at the wrong time."
"I remember he hit a century in a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle but again he got injured and missed the last two Tests when in form. So injuries have definitely played a part somewhere else his record in all the countries is good except maybe England (in 2018). In that series except Virat Kohli no other Indian batter did well," Sharma recalled.
The 2018 series in England was the last time Dhawan represented India in Tests. In eight innings, he scored 162 runs at an average of 20.25 with a best of 44.
Shikhar Dhawan struggled in Tests in Australia, England, and South Africa
While Dhawan ended his Test career with a decent average of 40.61, he fared badly in red-ball contests in Australia, England, and South Africa. The left-hander played three Tests in Australia and scored 167 runs at an average of 27.83. In England, he scored 284 runs in seven matches at an average of 20.28. In South Africa, Dhawan managed 108 runs in three Tests, averaging 18.
He did surprisingly well in New Zealand, scoring 215 runs in two Tests during the 2014 tour, hitting one hundred and one fifty. Dhawan enjoyed batting in Sri Lanka, where he hammered 520 runs in four Tests at an average of 86.66, with three hundreds, which included his best of 190.