'I want to make you a Bollywood hero' - Former India opener reveals first interaction with MS Dhoni

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan recently launched his memoir, The One: Cricket, My Life and More, in which he revealed a never-heard story of his first interaction with former skipper MS Dhoni. Dhawan revealed that the interaction took place during his long-awaited ODI debut series in 2010 against Australia, when he entered the Indian dressing room and met the legendary captain.

His Test debut came later in 2013, also under Dhoni’s leadership, where he scored a record 187 against Australia. But in October 2010, he finally received the India call-up for a three-match ODI series. Dhawan wrote that the then-skipper looked like a film star with his iconic long hair and big smile.

“I wanted to cast him in a Bollywood movie; he looked like a film star with that long hair and easy smile. We were having a chat about my motivation when I suddenly blurted out, ‘I want to play for India and I want to make you a Bollywood hero!’ He threw back his head and laughed,” Dhawan wrote in the book.

'I could not sleep the whole night' - Dhawan recalls debut game 

The 39-year-old also opened up about his debut game, which came in the first ODI in Kochi, which was washed out. Notably, the third game of the series at Margao was also washed out, with Dhawan able to play only in the second match and walk back after registering a two-ball duck

“Before the first match in Kochi, there was so much nervous energy bubbling inside me that I could not sleep the whole night… But when I got up in the morning, it was raining heavily, and all my hopes turned to nought. No action was possible that day,” Dhawan writes.

However, Dhawan has gone on to become the top run-getter in India’s 2013 Champions Trophy triumph under Dhoni. He has played 34 Tests for India, scoring 2315 runs. He also played 167 ODIs (6793 runs) and 68 T20 matches (1759 runs).

The former cricketer mentioned how social media was in its initial stage when he made his debut for India, which meant much lesser scrutiny as compared to the modern day.

“When I was trying to break into the Indian side, social media was still nascent and cricketers were under a lot less scrutiny. But other media platforms – print and broadcast – were thriving. Team selections and individual cricket performances were discussed threadbare and had gained sufficient audience in the country. However, unlike the current times in which social media can transform cricketers from ‘hero’ to ‘zero’ almost overnight, narratives took a lot longer to change back in those days,” he concluded.