Shikhar Dhawan is man-of-the-moment but he did face quite a tough time before making his way to the Indian team. Tarak Sinha, first coach of the southpaw revealed how tough it was for him when he wasn’t able to make it to the Indian team.
But as the going got tough, Dhawan became tougher and better than ever. He has been in sublime form this season as he had smacked three back-to-back international centuries. His coach was quoted by MiDDAY saying, “There was a time when he wanted to leave the game after failing to make it to the national squad on numerous occasions. He was quite frustrated when his name wouldn't figure in the India squad. It hurt him the most when his junior Delhi teammate Virat Kohli was picked in the team ahead of him.”
Coach of this dashing left-hander was quoted by Deccan Herald saying, "He has shown tremendous maturity. His body balance is perfect. His fearless attitude is the reason behind his good performance. He now understands the importance of staying at the wicket. He was very impatient earlier, but has worked on this aspect. The long wait has made him more determined to make every opportunity count.”
Dhawan was the star of the U-19 World Cup in 2003-04 which hogged him a great attention but because of playing under the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, he couldn’t stamp his authority.
But very soon he got the golden opportunity, when he was called for his services for the tour of West Indies. His maiden half-century came on the tour of West Indies in 2011 in the opening game, but he failed to perform on consistent basis in the remaining three matches.
Tarak was quoted by Indian Express saying, "He would often ask me, 'I am good enough. Why am I not picked'. There came a phase when he couldn't take any more rejection and wanted to leave the sport. Shikhar knew he had it all to make it to the top level but the waiting period was just too hard to pass by."
He revealed how much efforts he put in to keep motivating Dhawan during that rough patch and recalled by saying, "It was quite difficult to convince him to continue with cricket. But I managed to keep him going. I assured him his efforts wouldn't go waste. I am very happy for him. He has worked very hard and deserves every bit of his success.”