Shikhar Dhawan Announces Retirement from International and Domestic Cricket

Shikhar Dhawan, one of India's finest white-ball openers has announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket with immediate effect. The left-hander took to social media to call time on his career spanning over 13 years for India.

Dhawan, 38, clarified that although he's walking away from India colors, he hinted at continuing in league cricket – most prominently the IPL. Dhawan goes out having scored 10,867 runs from 269 appearances, including 24 centuries, 44 fifties and as one of the linchpins of Indian batting over the last decade.

"It's important to turn the page to move forward in a story, and in life. That's why, I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket," Dhawan said in his retirement video. "I've told myself to not feel sad that you won't play for India again, but feel happy that you played for the country."

The left-handed batter played his last game for India, an ODI against Bangladesh at Chattogram, in December 2022 while his last T20I was in Sri Lanka in July 2021. Dhawan had not played a Test for India since 2018. His last competitive appearance was for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2024 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in April following which an injury ended his season prematurely.

Dhawan expressed gratitude to his coaches from childhood, his family, his fans for their love, and the different Indian and IPL teams he has played for throughout his career.

Dhawan gained fame during the 2004 U-19 World Cup by amassing 505 runs and three centuries. Along with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, he was part of a strong Delhi batting order. With his elegant cover drives and cuts, he established himself as a formidable offside player. He finally made his debut for India in the ODI cricket in 2010 against Australia but was dismissed for a duck.

However, three years later in March 2013, he was given his Test debut against Australia at Mohali but unlike the ODI debut this was a memorable one. He smashed the fastest Test century on his debut in just 85 deliveries. From then on, he flourished in 2013, forming a solid opening partnership with Rohit Sharma which was instrumental as India went on to lift the Champions Trophy in England, where they scored 2 hundreds and 363 runs.

One of Dhawan's most memorable knocks came during the 2015 Cricket World Cup against South Africa at the MCG. He took players like Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, and Vernon Philander to the cleaners and established himself as the man for ICC events. He started the ICC 2019 World Cup in similar fashion, with a hundred against Australia, but a hairline fracture on his thumb ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.

Dhawan amassed 6,769 runs in 222 IPL games and is a one-time championship winner with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, forming a crucial partnership with David Warner. The turn of the decade saw international appearances come few and far between, though.

In addition, Dhawan captained India in 15 matches (12 ODIs and 3 T20Is), as well as 33 games overall for the two IPL franchises - Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and the former Champions League T20. He had a win-loss record of 8-5 (2 no-results) when he captained India. He led the team to ODI series wins against Sri Lanka in 2021, and West Indies and South Africa in 2022. However, while leading the team in the franchise tournaments, Dhawan found it difficult; his win-loss record was 13 victories against 20 losses.

In August 2023, although Dhawan had been out of reckoning, he expressed 'shock' at not being picked in India's squad for the Asian Games. Despite harboring aspirations of a comeback, time and again Dhawan would drop hints that his time with the Indian team is up, often admitting it with a smile.

Cover Credits - BCCI Official