Shikhar Dhawan, one of India’s best openers, has announced his retirement from international cricket. He won’t be playing for India but he may still play in cricket leagues like IPL. Dhawan last played for India in December 2022 against Bangladesh.
“It’s not like it is a tough decision for me. I am not even emotional. I don’t want to cry or something. But mostly it’s gratitude and love. I have spent most of my life playing cricket and I feel I’ve reached a stage where I want to rest now – from international and domestic,” Dhawan told Hindustan Times.
Dhawan gained attention during the 2004 U-19 World Cup, where he scored three centuries and totaled 505 runs. He started his international career in 2010 in an ODI against Australia where he got out for a duck on his second ball.
In 2011, he played four more ODIs against the West Indies. However, it was during the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia where Dhawan truly made his mark by scoring the fastest century on debut (in just 85 balls).
“My Test debut is my personal favourite. I came into the team and made that record. I scored 187. I always used to dream of playing for India and making world records. I wasn’t even aware of the world record. I was just happy to cement my place in the Test team,” said Dhawan.
His strong start in Tests helped him get back into the ODI team. At the 2013 Champions Trophy, captain MS Dhoni paired him with Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Dhawan scored back-to-back centuries against South Africa and the West Indies, leading India to its first title in the tournament, and he was named Player of the Tournament with 363 runs.
Dhawan became India’s go-to player in ICC tournaments, scoring 412 runs in the 2015 World Cup, making him India’s highest scorer there. His 137 against South Africa is remembered as one of his best innings.
He continued his strong performance with 338 runs in the 2017 Champions Trophy as well. Rohit and Dhawan became part of India’s second-most successful opening pair in ODIs, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Over his career, he scored 10,867 runs in 269 matches, including 24 centuries and 44 half-centuries, and was a key player in Indian batting for the last ten years.
