Shikhar Dhawan's Test selection drama revealed as ex-selector recalls fighting to replace Virender Sehwag

Shikhar Dhawan recently brought down the curtains on his illustrious playing career. The opening batsman announced his retirement from international as well as domestic cricket.

The southpaw did struggle to retain his spot in the Indian team in the last couple of years or so, he remained an integral member of the team, especially in limited-overs format for almost a decade. While Shikhar Dhawan made his debut for Team India in 2010, it was not until his Test debut in 2013 that he finally managed to announce his arrival in international cricket.

He had not played in international cricket for almost two years when the selectors handed him his maiden Test call-up for the home series against Australia. And Shikhar Dhawan justified the decision by smashing a whirlwind century. He went on to forge a formidable opening partnership with Rohit Sharma and also established himself as one of the best openers in the world.

While Shikhar Dhawan's fortunes completely changed after his blistering century on Test debut, things could have been very different for him had former selector Sandeep Patil not fought for his inclusion in the playing eleven.

With Virender Sehwag struggling with the bat in the series, it was Patil who pushed Dhawan's inclusion in the team for the third Test in Mohali.

"Shikhar had form going for him. You have to pick players at the right time when they are among the runs.

"There are various examples of young players not being picked when they have runs to back them and if they don't get picked, they feel very disappointed and that is not a good thing. Yes, I had to press for his inclusion, and I am so glad he didn’t let me down," Patil told Mid-Day.

Vikram Rathour on Shikhar Dhawan's Test debut:

Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who was the selector when Shikhar Dhawan made his Test debut, recalled the Mohali Test and said that the selectors were laughing at the opener's knock. Dhawan had raced away to his century in just 85 balls before being dismissed for 187.

"It [187] was a phenomenal innings. I remember we were laughing because he scored a run-a-ball 100 or even better than that. I remember him playing a reverse sweep when he was on 90. It was surprising to see somebody who was playing his first Test against a big team, play like that. He was very fearless which was great to see and that is how he played throughout his career," Rathour told the news outlet.

Overall, Dhawan retired from international cricket after scoring 6793 runs in 16 ODIs with the help of 17 centuries and 39 half-centuries. In Tests, he scored 2315 runs in 34 games while in 68 T20Is, he scored 1759 runs.