It may well be a strange coincidence, but come ICC events and Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan suddenly finds his footing and truly comes into his own.
He might have been struggling to find form so far, but at the ongoing Champions Trophy, the batsman has scored a total of 271 runs in three innings making him the top contender for the 'Golden Bat' award.
Advertisement
Dhawan has played a pivotal role in defending champions India's entry into the semi-final stage, where it will most likely face Bangladesh on Thursday.
Dhawan, who was the 'Player Of The Tournament' at the Champions Trophy 2013, has not only stabilised the innings at the start for India but also taken the pressure away from the middle order with his solid innings.
The 31-year-old southpaw batsman hit 68 runs in the opening match against Pakistan, followed by 125 and 78 runs against Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively.
Dhawan made his debut in 2010 against Australia at Visakhapatnam and has since had a tremendous run at all ICC events.
In 2015 World Cup, Dhawan scored 412 runs with his career-best knock of 137 runs against South Africa at Melbourne.
Although India couldn't defend the title, Dhawan made his place permanent in the Indian cricket team with his thunderous show.
The Delhi-based batsman made 363 runs in the 2013 Champions Trophy with two century knocks.
Dhawan has played 79 ODI matches for India so far, scoring 3361 runs with 19 half-tons and 10 centuries.
Currently in his best form, Dhawan will be perhaps the most prized wicket for the Bangladeshi bowlers.
