Happy Birthday Shikhar Dhawan: 4 unknown facts about the 'Gabbar' of Indian cricket

Shikhar Dhawan remains one of the finest openers in modern-day Indian cricket. As he celebrates his 36th birthday on Sunday, we look at some of his unknown facts.

Senior Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has made a name for himself, known for his classic batting. He tends to give his side the perfect start, creating a platform for a formidable total from his team. Be it Team India or in the Indian Premier League (IPL); Tests, One-Day Internationals (ODIs) or Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is); he tends to play with the same bold approach in all.

On Sunday, he is celebrating his 36th birthday. Known as the 'Gabbar' of Indian cricket, he has a lot of exciting facts to himself. However, we bet that you might not be aware of all of them. Thus, on this special day of his, we present four of the most intriguing facts about him that you might not have known.

Started as wicketkeeper
Yes, you read that right. Dhawan might have made a name for himself as a batter. However, he started his career as a wicketkeeper-batter, initially during his childhood days. Nevertheless, his batting was so promising that his trainers asked him to focus entirely on it, as he eventually mastered it to become the perfect opener he is today.

Friendship matters
Dhawan is known to have a lot of friends in his personal and professional life. One of his close friends happens to be veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Notably, Harbhajan introduced Dhawan to Ayesha Mukherjee, as the two fell in love and eventually married each other to begin a family. Unfortunately, they are divorced now, after nine years

Sufi fan
One of the prime hobbies of Dhawan happens to be music, while he is highly fond of Sufi music. He happens to like the Sufi tracks of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Wadali Brothers. He is often also seen attending Sufi concerts all over India.

Tattoo buff
Yes, he is a big fan of tattoos too. At the age of 15, he had his first tattoo, and he hid it from his parents, after which he got four more. He has the tattoo of 'Carpe Diem' on his left arm, while he has a tattoo of his ancestral sign on the right and one more in the back.