Australia tour will be a make or break one for Shikhar Dhawan

Tags: India tour of Australia 2014 -15, India, Australia, Shikhar Dhawan

Published on: Nov 27, 2014

The first warm up game for India against Cricket Australia XI turned out to be a fruitful one for most batsmen, with as many as five of them, including bowler Karn Sharma registering half-centuries.

The first warm up game for India against Cricket Australia XI turned out to be a fruitful one for most batsmen, with as many as five of them, including bowler Karn Sharma registering half-centuries. However, Shikhar Dhawan was among the few disappointments, as he fell early without making much of an impression. Of course, one cannot read too much into just one failure. After all, he has come to Australia on the back of three fifty-plus scores at home against Sri Lanka. However, the left-hander's past record in countries like South Africa and England make one wonder whether he can withstand the pressure exerted by the Aussie bowlers.

Dhawan had a sensational start to his Test career, against the Australians itself. But, that was at home in unhelpful conditions for the bowlers. Even since, Test cricket has been one big struggle for him. He failed to impress in his second series, even against the weak West Indians at home. Dhawan headed to South Africa with high hopes, but his technique was completely exposed over there by Dale Steyn and co. Not long after his stupendous debut, his Test career was at the crossroads as he continued to fail in New Zealand. Had it not been for a career-saving century in a losing cause at Hamilton, Dhawan might not even have been on the plane to England.

In England, Dhawan once again failed to stand up to the challenge. He got starts more than once, but failed to cross the fifty mark even once. It was only a worse performance from Gautam Gambhir, who replaced Dhawan for the final two Tests, that would have made Dhawan feel better about himself. And that is primarily why he has been retained as an opener for Australia. Of course, it has helped that Dhawan has been in good touch in one-dayers. But, even that has been mostly in India. And, with Lokesh Rahul also drafted into the squad, Dhawan cannot afford to fail at any cost. Else, his Test career would once again fall into the doldrums.

Dhawan's problems with the bat are manifold. He has a major issue with the short ball, which was clearly evident in South Africa. Dhawan just could not get his feet into the right position to pull or hook the ball. For someone who is a veteran on the domestic scene, that was quite a shocker. At the same time, it was an indication of how India's domestic scene doesn't encourage the horizontal bat shots. Dhawan's technique against the moving ball also came a cropper in England. In conditions where the ball is moving around, one needs soft hands. However, Dhawan was mostly pushing at the ball, as a result of which he kept hitting balls in the air, and being consumed rather easily.

At such a late stage in his career, Dhawan cannot change his technique or his style or play. No one can. At the same time, it will be pertinent for him to make some modifications in the manner in which he bats if he wants to survive in Australia. A perfect technique is not needed to do well in cricket. All you need to be able to do is to keep the good balls out, and punish the bad ones. This is exactly what former dashing wicket-keeper from Australia, Adam Gilchrist used to do. Dhawan can definitely take a leaf out of Gilly's book.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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