Dealt with an unkind cut, Shikhar Dhawan's cup of injury woes spills over

Would you want to be in Shikhar Dhawan’s shoes currently? Why, indeed, would you want to be in Shikhar Dhawan’s shoes currently? These might appear obvious questions in the immediacy of the left-handed opener sustaining a left shoulder injury during the third One-day International against Australia in Bengaluru. Even in isolation, the grade II injury to his acromioclavicular joint on Sunday night is a massive blow because it has ruled him out of the white-ball leg of India’s ongoing tour of New Zealand. When you factor in two previous, non-fitness related, on-field injuries in the last seven months, it’s hard to imagine the 34-year-old not feeling frustrated or being dealt an unkind cut by a higher power. [caption id=“attachment_7928331” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shikhar Dhawan suffered a shoulder injury during the Bengaluru ODI against Australia. AP[/caption] Dhawan’s tryst with misfortune started at The Oval during the World Cup fixture against Australia when he was struck just below his left thumb by a lifter from Pat Cummins. Unfazed by the ninth-over accident, he carried on to a spectacular 117, post which an x-ray revealed a fracture of the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand. That ended his interest in the competition, though he had recovered by the time India travelled to the United States and the Caribbean in August for three Twenty20 Internationals and as many ODIs against West Indies. Then, towards the end of November, Dhawan suffered a deep gash to his knee while diving to make his crease, batting for Delhi against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament. Initially believed to be a minor abrasion, the cut was severe enough to relegate him to the sidelines for a little over a month, causing him to miss the limited-overs series against West Indies at home in December. Dhawan was lucky to emerge unscathed after being pinged on the ribs, also by Cummins, during the Rajkot ODI last week. Fears that he might miss the decider in Bengaluru surfaced when he didn’t take the field during Australia’s unsuccessful chase, but while he did make a sufficient recovery despite the short turnover time, his Chinnaswamy stint lasted a mere four overs when he dived to stop the ball at cover-point, and gingerly got up awkwardly clutching the left shoulder. A quick dash to the hospital later, he was back in the dressing-room with his left hand in a sling, symbolic of his immediate cricketing future. A sunny outlook, a love for life and an undying passion for cricket have combined to help Dhawan maintain calm and retain positivity during trying times in the past. It must come as some consolation that these are cricket injuries which bear no reflection on his fitness – the oldest active member of the Indian white-ball side in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s absence and Kedar Jadhav’s repeated benching, works harder than anyone else to keep himself in shape and give the younger guys a run for their money – but with each new injury, it’s only human if he starts thinking ‘why me’, even if he has only missed three ODIs and as many T20Is since the end of the World Cup. Dhawan had an indifferent run in ODIs in 2019, two hundreds and two half-centuries barely making up for six single-digit scores in 17 hits. He was even less productive in T20Is in the early part, a solitary 30 in seven innings barely sufficient to stave off the mounting pressure stemming from KL Rahul’s productivity, but since the start of the home series against South Africa in Mohali in September, a rejuvenated Dhawan has reeled off successive efforts of 40, 36, 41, 31, 19, 32 and 52. At his imperious best, when he allows the ball to come to him and doesn’t try to hit the cover off it, Dhawan has spent time away from the action to make technical adjustments that have helped him counter opposition ploys to tuck him up by bowling into his body. No longer playing around his front pad, and with his left foot starting slightly outside leg-stump, Dhawan appeared a lot less shackled in his last few knocks, another clear indication that not only is he still enjoying his cricket but that he is also determined to get better. While this latest setback isn’t debilitating, it is a blip both for the batsman himself and for the team with the Twenty20 World Cup less than nine months away and preparations just about entering the final stretch. Ideally, India would have liked to field a settled opening combine in these five T20Is against New Zealand, as well as the matches to follow post the Indian Premier League. At least for the next week or so, they will have to jettison those plans, which in all likelihood means Rahul’s yo-yoing recent run will reunite him with Rohit Sharma at the top of the batting order. “There will an issue of continuity (in Dhawan’s absence), for sure,” skipper Virat Kohli conceded on Thursday afternoon. “Whenever he is back in the team – he did well in the last game that he played – we would love to have him back and have the balance in the team where we can really go in with the best batting line-up that we have. In the meantime, we don’t have any issues with the replacement.” As for Dhawan, this is far from the end of the world. Through his rediscovered run-scoring ways with the fluency normally associated with him when he is firing on all cylinders, he has earned the right to be drafted back in once he is available for selection. India’s next assignment is the three-match ODI series at home against South Africa from March 12. All other things being equal, the ever-smiling, thigh-slapping Dhawan will be back in the mix then. One man’s misfortune could just be the window of opportunity another has been waiting for. Had it not been for the blow inflicted on Steve Smith’s head by Jofra Archer, Marnus Labuschagne might yet have been warming the bench. Instead, drafted in as concussion substitute, the South Africa-born right-hander and the man for whom he came in and whose batting style he apes have struck up a spectacular combo in both Tests and ODIs with Labuschagne comfortably stacking up 1,000-plus Test runs for 2019 in a mere 11 matches. Were he the deep-thinking, ponderous sort, Dhawan could have been forgiven for cursing his fate, because lady luck has been anything but kind to him in the last several months. Notwithstanding cliches such as age being just a number, Dhawan won’t be unaware that with younger, stronger and fitter batsmen snapping at his heels, the sands of time are slowly but gradually ebbing away. Having been at the receiving end, he could do with the rub of the green going his way, especially when he seems to have found a second wind to his batting. March can’t come soon enough for the man they call Gabbar.