‘MS Dhoni Was Also Dismissed For Zero’ – Shikhar Dhawan Recalls His Pep Talk With Suresh Raina After ODI Debut

New Delhi: Shikhar Dhawan who had played his India ODI debut match against Australia in Vishakhapatnam in October 2010. The 37-year-old batter was out for a duck in the first inning and managed to score 11 runs in the second. Later Dhawan was dropped for the next match and it took him several months before he made a comeback.

Indian opener revealed that Suresh Raina consoled him after he got out on a duck former India cricket told him that it is a lucky zero for him.

“Suresh Raina was there in the pavilion. He was a senior player then. He told me, ‘Even I was dismissed for zero. MS Dhoni was also dismissed for zero. It is a lucky zero.’ Then I started smiling again. But then I kept thinking when will I get my next opportunity because back in those days Sehwag and Gambhir were in their prime,” Shikhar Dhawan told AajTak.

Dhawan also opened about his dream of playing for India as a young cricketer and also added that he couldn’t sleep at all that night before his ODI debut match.

“It is always a dream to play for India as a young cricketer. And I couldn’t sleep at all that night. I woke up in the morning and saw it was raining and later the match was called off. In the second match, it was in the city of destiny which is Visakhapatnam. I made my debut. We fielded first and I was stationed at slip, then mid-off, and probably everywhere. When my batting came, I was bowled in the second over itself. I was smiling on my way back to the pavilion thinking ‘I thought of scoring a 100 and ended up with 0’”

Shikhar Dhawan is currently preparing for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League. He is leading Punjab which will play their opener clash against Kolkata in Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Punjab.