On Saturday, Shikhar Dhawan declared his retirement from both domestic and international cricket. The left-handed hitter revealed his decision to retire from all forms of cricket in an emotional speech shared on social media with his supporters. The last time Dhawan was in the Indian cricket team was in the ODI series against Bangladesh in 2022. But in the last few years, Shubman Gill and other inexperienced opening batsmen have displaced him. In an extended video address, Dhawan thanked the associations and his followers on X (formerly Twitter) for their love and support throughout the course of his career.
“As I close this chapter of my cricketing journey, I carry with me countless memories and gratitude. Thank you for the love and support! Jai Hind!” Dhawan posted on X.
“I am standing at a point where when I look back, I only see memories and a new life when I look forward. It was always my dream to play for India, and I got to live it. I am thankful to a lot of people for that. First of all, my family, my childhood coaches and then my team that I played with for so many years. I got a new family, fame and love. But it is said that to move forward, you need to flip the pages,” Dhawan said in a post on ‘X’.
“I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket. As I bid farewell to my cricketing journey, I have peace in my heart. I played a lot for my country. I only say this to myself, that you don’t need to be upset about not playing for your country again, but be happy that you had the opportunity to do so,” he concluded.
Dhawan represented India in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is. His highest performance was in the 50-over format, where he averaged 44.11 and scored 6793 runs. He completed 2315 Test runs at an average of 40.61.
