Shikhar Dhawan has announced his retirement from domestic and international cricket through a social media post on Saturday morning. Dhawan’s last game was in April, leading Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. He retires with 24 hundreds ( 17 in ODIs and seven in Tests) across 269 international matches.
Dhawan said in a video message, ‘It’s important to turn thee page to move forward in life and that’s why I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket’.
‘I am leaving with peace in my heart that I played for so long for India. I tell myself not to feel sad that you will not play for India naymore, but to feel happy that you played for your country’.
Dhawan, who made his India debut in 2010, 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).
In all, he scored 6793 runs in 167 ODIs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35. His last ODI was against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.
In 34 Tests, he scored 2135 runs at an average of 40.61 and in 68 T20Is, 1759 at a strike of 126.36. Dhawan’s career hit the high notes in 2013 as he made 1162 runs in 26 ODIs at an average of 50.52 and a strike rate of 97.89. The icing on the cake was his chart-topping 363 runs in five innings, including two centuries, in India’s title-winning run at the Champions Trophy, which was his first ODI series after five forgeattbel outings across 2010 and 2011.
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