Shikhar Dhawan has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The left-handed opener decided to hang up his cricket kit on Saturday morning. He took to social media to post an emotional message for fans where he announced his decision. The Southpaw last played for the Indian cricket team way back in 2022 during the ODI series against Bangladesh. Since then he failed to find in the Men in Blue side.
The 38-year-old batter lost his place to Shubman Gill and other young opening batters in the past couple of years. The Delhi-born cricketer goes out having scored 10,867 runs from 269 appearances, including 24 centuries, and 44 fifties. So-called Mr.ICC by the fans, due to his excellent records in the ICC tournaments. In 27 games he had scored 1312 runs with an average of 50.46. Having 6 centuries and 4 fifties to his name.
Dhawan retires as one of only eight ODI batters with over 5000 runs at a 40-plus average and a 90-plus strike rate (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the other Indians in the list). After trying long and hard to make a comeback to the national team he failed on every occasion despite performing better in the local tournaments.
Shikhar Dhawan’s IPL legacy will be unmatched
Was it the frustration of not playing international cricket or external pressure that led to his sudden retirement? The announcement came in as a shocker for every fan. They were hoping to witness him for yet another year in the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 edition. He was the captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) last season.
However, due to injury, he was knocked out of the tournament after playing some matches. In the IPL he is the second-highest run-getter behind Kohli. His 6769 runs came across 222 matches at a strike rate of 127.14. It will be very difficult to surpass his run fest in the rich cash league. The explosive opener celebration will be missed by the fans.
