Veteran Batsman Shikhar Dhawan Announces Retirement From International and Domestic Cricket

38-year-old Shikhar “Gabbar” Dhawan, one of the stalwarts of Indian Cricket in recent times, has announced his retirement via a post on his official Instagram account.

Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed a very successful 14-year stint with Team India, playing an instrumental role for India during multiple series and World Cup campaigns. Dhawan represented India 34 times in Test cricket, 167 times in ODIs and 68 times in T20s. The 38-year-old batter took to social media to announce his retirement from International and Domestic cricket.  

In an emotional video, Dhawan thanked fans, and everyone involved in his journey. He said, “Always had one goal in mind that was to play for India and I achieved it thanks to a lot of people. First of all of all my family, my childhood coach Tarak Sinha and Madan Sharma under their guidance, I learnt cricket. Then my entire team with whom I played for years, I got another family, fame and everyone’s love and support.” He added further, “As it’s said that in order to move ahead in the story you need to flip over the pages. Hence, I’m also doing that. I’m announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket.” 

While Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed success in Test and T20 cricket, many fans fondly remember him for his spectacular innings in ODIs. Dhawan retires as one of only eight ODI batters with over 5000 runs at a 40+ average and a 90+ strike rate. The only other Indians on the list are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In all, he racked up 6,793 runs in 167 ODIs, boasting an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35. His final ODI appearance was against Bangladesh in Chattogram back in December 2022. 

During his illustrious ODI career Dhawan became a mainstay in Team India, building a remarkable partnership with Rohit Sharma as openers. During their heydays, the one-two-three punch of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli was one of the most feared in world cricket. On their day, any of the three batsmen had the ability to single-handedly change the course of a game. In fact, when it comes to total runs, Hitman and Gabbar rank as the fourth-best pair among ODI openers. Furthermore, their 18 century partnerships are second only to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who have 21. 

Besides his remarkable ODI exploits, Shikhar Dhawan has been a consistent presence in the IPL, which has now become the fourth most valuable sports league in the world. Shawan has represented teams like Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers and Punjab Kings. In 222 IPL matches, Dhawan has accumulated 6769 runs at a strike rate of 127.14, making him the second highest run-getter in IPL history behind Virat Kohli. Dhawan’s retirement is truly a big loss for Indian cricket. He will be remembered as one of the greatest Indian ODI openers of all-time. 

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