Mumbai: Shikhar Dhawan has called time on his 14-year international career announcing his retirement through a social media post on Saturday.
Dhawan last played in a competitive match this April, captaining the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2024. He concludes his career with 24 international centuries (17 in ODIs and seven in Tests) over 269 matches.
“It’s crucial to turn the page to progress in life, and that’s why I’m announcing my retirement from both international and domestic cricket,” Dhawan stated in a video on his social media accounts. “I depart with a heart full of peace, having played for India for so long. I’ve convinced myself not to be sad about not playing for India anymore, but to be happy that I had the opportunity to represent my country.”
Dhawan retires as an ODI legend, one of only eight players in the history of the format to score over 5000 runs with an average above 40 and a strike rate over 90 (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the other Indians on this list). His last appearance for India was in the ODI series against Bangladesh in December 2022.
Although he played in all formats during his peak, Dhawan’s ODI achievements far surpass his performance in the other formats. His Test debut was remarkable, scoring a hundred in just 85 balls against Australia in Mohali, the fastest century by a debutant in Tests. He scored 187 in that match, contributing to a victory.
Dhawan’s career reached its zenith in 2013 when he scored 1162 runs in ODIs at an average of 50.52 and a strike rate of 97.89. His standout performance was during the Champions Trophy, where he scored 363 runs in five innings, including two centuries, leading India to victory. This was his comeback series in ODI cricket after an unremarkable period in 2010-11.
This tournament marked the beginning of a prolific opening partnership with Rohit Sharma. In terms of runs, they are the fourth-highest pairing in ODIs and the second-most successful Indian duo after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
