Shikhar Dhawan has never been the one to blend in. With his explosive batting, twirling mustache, and signature ‘thigh-five’ celebrations, he has always been as much a performer as a player. A natural entertainer, he left behind snapshots of carefree aggression that his fans don’t seem to forget. Yet when it comes to telling his own story, the magic doesn’t quite translate.
His book The One: Cricket, My Life and More, co-authored with Chandresh Narayanan and Namita Kala, fails to impress. It follows a predictable chronology, beginning with his early life in Delhi’s Vikaspuri, his selection for the Indian team, and moving on to exploring his world beyond the 22 yards of the cricket pitch. Even as it attempts to mirror his journey on and off the field, it reads less like a flashy T20 innings and more like a long, forgettable Test match.
The book opens with Dhawan’s childhood in Vikaspuri, where he paints himself as a mischievous boy with a restless energy, soon to be tamed by cricket. Bursting firecrackers in neighbours’ letterboxes, tales from his under-16 and under-19 trials, and even accounts of off-field skirmishes are shared with a casual tone. While these stories are meant to reveal his playful side, they rarely rise above the ordinary and hold the reader’s attention.
What does stand out in the early chapters is Dhawan’s candid revelation about his youthful ‘personal vices’ and vulnerabilities. His “fondness for cigarettes and girls from distant countries” is shared with disarming honesty. The chapters give away the cricketer’s private life and his lesser-known affaire de coeur, as he likes to put it.
Efforts to draw parallels between Dhawan’s professional and personal life feel forced, and the writing rarely connects the two different worlds in a way that adds meaning or weight. The reader is left with a series of loosely stitched episodes rather than a coherent narrative. The section on the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy—perhaps the most defining highlight of his career—feels underdeveloped. Sadly, it reads more like a footnote than a triumphant chapter.
Still, there are glimpses of the entertainer. The glitz of the IPL, the atmosphere of the dressing room, and his selection struggles make for more lively passages. Cricket fans will be drawn to anecdotes, the behind-the-scenes banter, and even the occasional fights with teammates and coaches. More compelling are the sections on his long-distance relationship with Ayesha Mukherjee, their marriage and eventual breakdown, and the emotional toll it took. Here, the man behind the public image feels most real, grappling with insecurities and heartbreak.
Even as the book is filled with momentary honesty, it does not rise above a run-of-the-mill autobiographical account. Some parts feel rushed, others overstretched. For readers looking for insights on how a Vikaspuri boy became Dhawan as we know today, The One falls short.