India opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his 35th birthday on December 05, 2020 (Saturday). Born in 1985, Dhawan has so far represented India in 34 Test matches, 139 ODIs and 60 Twenty 20 internationals since making his international debut against Australia in October 2010. His ODI and Test debut both came against the same opposition. But while Dhawan made a duck in his ODI debut, he racked up the highest individual score by an Indian batsman on Test debut. Dhawan smashed 187 vs Australia and rewrote the records books. As he celebrates his 35th birthday, take a look at some lesser-known facts about Shikhar Dhawan. KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal All Smiles in Shikhar Dhawan’s ‘Squad Goal’ Post Ahead of India vs Australia ODI Series 2020.

Dhawan started his cricket journey for Delhi U16s in the 1999 Vijay Merchant Trophy and was the leading run-scorer in the competition two seasons later. Dhawan made his first-class debut for Delhi in 2004. He was India’s highest run-scorer for India at the 2015 ICC World Cup and also at the 2013 and 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Take a look at some quick facts about him.

  • Shikhar Dhawan was born to Mahendra Pal and Sunaina Dhawan in Delhi on December 5, 1985

  • Dhawan started his career as a wicket-keeper batsman before shifting his focus to batting specifically

  • He scored most T20I runs (689) in 2018

  • Dhawan holds the record for highest individual score (187) for an Indian batsman on Test debut

  • His first century against Australia is also the fastest hundred (85) scored on Test debut

  • Dhawan also holds an exclusive record for scoring a century in his 100th ODI match. He is the only Indian and ninth overall to achieve the feat

  • Shikhar Dhawan is also the first Indian and sixth overall to score a Test hundred before lunch on the opening day of a Test match

  • He is nicknamed ‘Gabbar’ and ‘Jaat-Ji’ by his fans and mates in the India national cricket team

  • Dhawan is the only cricketer to finish two consecutive ICC Champions Trophy tournaments (2013 and 2017) as the leading run-scorer

  • Dhawan is the fastest Indian batsman to score 2000 and 3000 ODI runs

  • Shikhar Dhawan is the first ever to score consecutive centuries in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He achieved the feat in IPL 2020 for Delhi Capitals.

Dhawan is currently part of the Indian squad in the tour of Australia and was the third-highest run-scorer for India in the recently concluded ODI series. He will be key to the national side as they aim to clinch the T20I series and conclude their preparations for the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup next year. We wish Shikhar Dhawan a happy birthday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 05, 2020 12:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).