Failure is not a bad thing because it teaches you how to succeed: Dhawan

To say Shikhar Dhawan has had a tough time on his first tour of England would be an understatement. He managed just 122 runs in three Tests before making way for Gautam Gambhir. The first two ODIs, a format for which he is better suited, yielded scores of 10 and 16. His apparent return to form in the third ODI with a smash-and-grab 97 from 81 balls put the smile back on his face and the twirl back in his moustache. Dhawan even won the game for India in typical Dhawan fashion - with consecutive boundaries. He smashed Harry Guerney through point for four and then tonked him over mid-on for six, before raising his arms to the heavens in celebration. Shikhar Dhawan. AFP After the game, Dhawan told the BCCI’s website that he never let his head drop at any point on the tour and was confident that the wheel would turn back his way again. “To be honest, even during the Tests and in the first two ODIs, it wasn’t like I was struggling to put bat on ball,” Dhawan told the BCCI website. “It happens with every batsman; sometimes despite feeling good in the nets, you don’t score runs in the match. During the Test series, Dhawan was often caught on the crease attempting to play at balls either pushed across him or seaming away when he often didn’t have to play at all. To enable him to see the bowler better, he tweaked his batting stance by opening his right shoulder. That also created space for him to play straighter, which is necessary condition for doing well in England. Mentally, Dhawan made sure he didn’t get down on himself. When form deserts a player, it is easy to get frustrated and succumb to your flaws. Dhawan said he tried not to over-think what was happening to him and to stay patient. “You are trying everything you can to score runs – you’re working on your technique, preparing yourself mentally and doing everything right before a match. But still you go through one failure after another. At this time it is very important to have patience and keep the belief intact. All you can do is keep trying and keep working. Sometimes, you also have to admit that you are getting good balls and the opposition has your number." Having come back out in to the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel, Dhawan believes he is a better player because of the failures he endured in England. ”You look into your game and try to pick every single thing you can improve about it. At the end of it, you emerge as a better player than you were. For me failure is not a bad thing because it teaches you how to succeed. Among the lessons he learned was shot selection, which Sachin Tendulkar once said was crucial to succeeding at the international level. ”I am now more aware of which balls I must play and leave, Dhawan said. “The straighter you play here, the better because the ball moves around. I also realised that even the smallest technical alteration can have a big impact on your game.” You can read the full interview here.