Elated after getting the central contract, opener Shikhar Dhawan now targets a permanent spot in Delhi’s first XIDelhi opener Shikhar Dhawan had plenty to cheer for after the game against Saurashtra on Monday. Close on the heels of his match-winning 62-ball 84 run knock, he found his name in the coveted list of the Indian cricket board’s centrally-contracted players — a perfect icing on the cake.“Yesterday was great for me as well as the team. First we won, and then I got the contract.We were all happy for each other,” said Dhawan. Talking about the importance of the Grade D contract offered to him, the left-hander said it was a big boost for him to know that he was part of the future plans of the board.“I am really happy about the contract. It was good to know that I figure in the BCCI’s plans. Besides, I will also get to train at the National Cricket Academy,” the 22-year-old said. If it was sort of a surprise on Monday, the feeling of being bracketed with the best in the country started sinking in only on Tuesday.“Bahut accha laga jab pata chala ke mera naam us list mein hai (I felt good to know that my name was also in that list). This is a big boost for me and I will work even harder now to improve my performances,” he said.Disappointing seasonHowever, Dhawan was not happy with the way the season has unfolded so far. He wasn’t among runs before the Rajkot match and the fact that he isn’t an automatic selection, when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir return to the Delhi team, has been hard for him to digest. A string of low scores after starting the season with a 72 against Punjab made the job of holding his place in the side difficult. He agreed that the lack of runs was the reason behind falling down the pecking order. “Being an opener, it’s already hard for the team to play me, especially when Viru bhai and Gautam are around. Also our middle-order is packed with good players, so playing down the order wasn’t also an option,” he said, adding, “I was not making runs so I had to sit out.” But now that he has found his rhythm, Dhawan said he was looking forward to win his place back.“I have to make more runs to make my place in the side permanent. This is the only way forward for me,” he said.
