India's Shikhar Dhawan acknowledges the cheers from the crowd on reaching his century against Sri Lanka at The Oval in London yesterday. Pic/Bipin Patel

It was in the 2013 Champions Trophy in England that Shikhar Dhawan heralded his arrival on the international scene. Riding on the superlative form of the mercurial left-handed opener, India went on the win the trophy. He struck centuries in the first two games - 114 against South Africa at Cardiff and 102 not out against West Indies at the Oval. He rounded it up with 48 vs Pakistan, 68 in the semi-final vs Sri Lanka and 31 in the final against England. His consistent performances ensured India always had a head start.

Despite early success, Dhawan has had a chequered career, losing his place in the team on a couple of occasions, but bounced back to prove his detractors wrong. Dhawan had had a miserable run (2, 1, 8, 38) in the tri-Series in Australia, just before the 2015 World Cup. But came the big event and he struck form with 73 in the opening game at Adelaide against Pakistan before being unfortunately run out. Then, at Melbourne against South Africa, he played a memorable knock of 137. He had another ton against Ireland and in general gave India the usual starts, till India fell to their nemesis Australia in the semi-finals.