IGNORED DESPHANDE STRIKES BACK AND ‘ GABBAR’ DHAWAN LEADS FROM THE FRONT
Tushar Deshpande, who made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals on Wednesday and impressed everyone by bowling the last over of the match and taking the prize wicket of Ben Stokes, was left out of the Mumbai squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. The decision by the selectors to drop Deshpande, who was performing consistently, created a huge uproar leading to the Mumbai Cricket Association sacking two of the selectors. Deshpande always believed that his job was to performand honour will follow. In 2018, he was invited for the KXIP selection trials in Mohali, but he opted to play for his club Parsee Gymkhana in a Purshottam Shield secondround match against the Cricket Club of India at the same time in Mumbai. Unlike youngsters who yearn for a call into the IPL team, Deshpande was more focused on utilising all his chances to give his best. He once remarked that he was also invited by Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, and Rajasthan Royals for their selection trials but he chose not to go saying that if he was giving his 100 per cent in the matches that he plays, he need not go for the trials. On Wednesday he made the Delhi Capitals management feel good for having picked him.
‘ GABBAR’ DHAWAN AND HIS UNIQUE STYLE
Shikhar Dhawan, who top- scored for Delhi Capitals and captained the team when Shreyas Iyer got injured, loves to enjoy everything he does on the field and off it too. He enjoys twirling his moustache and has often won applause from the crowd while doing that. It was his moustache that got him the nickname Gabbar, the famous bandit in the Bollywood blockbuster ‘ Sholay’. Hailing from the Jaat community, he is also called Jaat- ji by his teammates. After taking a catch, he always stands on one leg and slaps his thigh. Dhawan was spotted when at the age of 12 he hit a century in an Under- 15 tournament. He had started off as a wicketkeeper- batsman before specialising as an opener. In the 2003- 04 Under- 19 World Cup, he emerged player of the tournament hitting three centuries and scoring over 500 runs, and the rest is history.