'Both Dhoni and I got out for ducks' - Shikhar Dhawan recalls how Suresh Raina comforted him after horrible ODI debut

Veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan planned to score a century on his ODI debut but got out on the second ball of the innings after Clint McKay destroyed his stumps. Notably, he made his long-awaited debut against Australia in 2010 after the first match of the series was washed out.

Dhawan recently stated that was worried about his future as openers like Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were in their prime during that time and thus, he was not confident that he will get another opportunity after failing on debut. Dhawan revealed that he was devasted for getting out for a duck but Suresh Raina comforted him in the dressing room, stating that even MS Dhoni and he himself got dismissed on a duck on their debut.

“In the second match (against Australia) it was in 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',” Dhawan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“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,” he added.

Dhawan was in the scheme of things till the West Indies tour in June 2011, but was dropped after that. However, the now 37-year-old made a stunning comeback in the Champions Trophy 2013 to help the Men in Blue win the competition. Overall, he has represented the national team in 167 ODI matches, scoring 6793 runs at an average of 44.11, with 17 centuries and 39 half-centuries.

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