'Will you let me sleep?' - Shikhar Dhawan recalls how his act of getting his girlfriend into the room irked Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were one of the most successful opening pairs for India in ODIs.

Former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan revealed an interesting anecdote from the 2006 Australia tour with India A. He narrated how he secretly got his girlfriend into the hotel room, which he was sharing with current ODI captain, Rohit Sharma. 

Shikhar Dhawan, no doubt, was an incredible servant of the Indian Cricket Team. The opening batter made a massive impact in all three formats and scored a huge number of runs, helping his team register some of the famous wins. 

Shikhar Dhawan, along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, formed one of the best top orders for India, and it’s fair to say that from 2013 to till the time the left-hander played his last game, the trio carried the Indian team, especially in the white-ball formats.

The bond of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan was one of the most celebrated in Indian cricket. Even before they started opening together, they shared a great camaraderie as they spent their young days playing together for India A. 

During one of the tours to Australia with India A in 2006, Shikhar Dhawan was attracted to a girl. He said that she gave him the impression that he could marry her. Writing in his autobiography, he said: 

“She was very beautiful, and suddenly I was in love again! I thought to myself, ‘She is the one for me, and I am going to marry her.” 

Now and then, he would complain in Hindi. ‘Will you let me sleep?'”  – Shikhar Dhawan on Rohit Sharma

Shikhar Dhawan also revealed how he used to meet her girlfriend after every game. He also shared a hilarious story, saying that he used to get her into the room, and Rohit Sharma, who was his partner, also used to complain. He added: 

“I started with a half-century in a practice game, and my tour was progressing well. After every game, I would go over to meet up with Ellen (not her real name) and I soon started smuggling her into my hotel room which I was sharing with Rohit Sharma. Now and then, he would complain in Hindi. ‘Will you let me sleep?'” 

Dhawan added how he was caught by a national selector with his girlfriend and narrated that his performances also kept dipping. He explained: 

“One evening, when I headed for dinner with Ellen, news of her presence spread like wildfire throughout the entire squad. A senior national selector, who was on tour with us, spotted us walking in the lobby with our hands linked.“

“ It didn’t even occur to me that I should let go of her hand, because to me, we were committing no crime. There was a good chance that if I had performed consistently on that Australia tour, I would have made it to the senior Indian side, but my performance kept dipping.” 

Dhawan went on to represent India in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20 Internationals. He amassed 6793 runs at an average of 44.11, including 17 centuries and 39 fifties. In the longest format of the game, he scored 2315 runs at an average of 40.61, which included 7 centuries and 5 half-centuries. While in T20Is, he slammed 1759 runs.

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