Former Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan recently launched his autobiography, The One: Cricket, My Life and More, unveiling unheard stories of first encounters with former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This meeting took place during Dhawan's much-anticipated ODI debut series against Australia in 2010, as he entered the Indian dressing room and met Dhoni for the very first time.
Dhawan's Test debut came in 2013, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, where he scored a spectacular 187 runs against Australia. But it was October 2010 when he first made it into India’s ODI team. Dhawan amusingly wrote that the captain back then, MS Dhoni, with his flowing hair and charming smile, looked every bit like a film star.
In his book, Dhawan wrote, “I wished to cast him in a Bollywood movie. His long hair and spontaneous smile made him resemble a film star. While discussing my inspirations, I blurted out, ‘I want to play for India and have you become a Bollywood hero!’ This made him laugh aloud.
Also Read: ‘First meeting with Dhoni, out on zero's pain’, insights by cricketer-turned-author Shikhar Dhawan
Amusing anecdote with Rohit Sharma
Dhawan also mentioned a funny incident with Rohit Sharma in his autobiography, describing how he secretly took his girlfriend to the room he was sharing with Rohit. The 39-year-old Dhawan shared his debut match experiences too. This match was supposed to happen in Kochi, but due to rain, it was canceled. The third match of the series in Margao was also washed away, leaving Dhawan to play only the second match, where he was out in just two balls.
Dhawan wrote, “The night before my first match, anxiety was so intense I couldn’t sleep... When I awoke in the morning, it was pouring rain, crushing my expectations. There was no possibility of a match that day.” Later, Dhawan became the top scorer in India's 2013 Champions Trophy win. He played 34 Tests (2315 runs), 167 ODIs (6793 runs), and 68 T20s (1759 runs) for India.
