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Shikhar Dhawan is gearing up for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 which is slated to commence from March 31. But right ahead of the 16th edition of the glitzy league, Dhawan broke his silence on his failed marriage in an exclusive interview with AAJ TAK. Dhawan bluntly spoke about his relation with estranged wife Ayesha Mukherjee and revealed the reason behind their separation.
Dhawan confessed that his marriage failed because he was not aware of that field.
“I failed because the final decision is the person’s own. I don’t point fingers at others. I failed because I was not aware of that field. The things I talk about cricket today, I wouldn’t have been aware of the same 20 years back. It comes with experience,” Dhawan told AAJ TAK.
Dhawan also spoke at length about the possibility of marrying again and claimed that the process of the divorce is still on.
“Right now my divorce case is going on. Tomorrow, if I want to marry again, I will be much more wiser in that field. I’ll know what kind of girl I need; someone whom I can spend my life with. When I was 26-27 and I was continuously playing, I was not in any relationship. I used to have fun, but was never in a relationship,” he said.
“So, when I fell in love, I couldn’t see the red flags. But today, if I fall in love, I will be able to see those red flags. So, if I see those red flags, I will walk out. If not, I will carry on,” Dhawan concluded.
Dhawan was snubbed in India's recently-concluded home series in the ODIs against Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka despite being a regular member of the 50-over format for India in the last nine years.
Dhawan, who had been the mainstay of India's fold until the emergence of young guns coupled with his form slump which limited him to just ODI format.
Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have made the most of the chances that they are getting. The veteran opener revealed that he was actually quite scared when Kishan smashed his double century during the ODI against Bangladesh in December 2022. Then, he thought he was out of the team.
"We are used to such a situation. When Ishan Kishan slammed a double century against Bangladesh, then for a moment I thought I could be out of the team," Dhawan said.
However, the swashbuckling batter also said that he had the backing of Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, who asked him to focus on the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, hosted by India in October-November.
"When Rohit took over the captaincy he along with Rahul Dravid backed me enough. They told me they wanted me to focus on my cricket and that my vision should be the next World Cup," Dhawan said.
"2022 was very good for me, I was consistent in ODIs. But there is this young guy who has been doing well in two formats, and when my form dipped in a series or two then they gave a chance to Shubman and he has lived up to their expectations."
"This is not something new in cricket. Or this happened just with me, plenty of others have met with the same fate. There are times when you play well throughout the year and then your form drops for one month or two, sometimes that becomes bigger than your performance throughout the year. When a captain, coach and selector take a decision they put plenty of thoughts into it," he added.
"I feel the way Shubman is (playing at the moment). Like he was playing two formats and performing well in Tests and T20s. He was playing more matches in the international circuit and I wasn't. If I was the selector then definitely would have given the chance to Shubman. Would have selected Shubman over Shikhar," Dhawan concluded.
However, Dhawan will be focusing on the what's there on his plate now, which is leading the PBKS pack in the IPL 2023. PBKS will open their IPL campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 1.
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