Shikhar Dhawan, a leading name in India’s white-ball cricket, has announced his retirement from international cricket. At 38 years old, Dhawan revealed that while he is retiring from representing India, he plans to remain active in league cricket, notably in the IPL.
Shikhar Dhawan Announces Retirement With Gratitude And Love
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Dhawan mentioned that the decision to retire brings him gratitude and love. He cherishes every moment of his career and the memories made. Now after playing for so long he is focused on the next phase of his life.
“It’s not like it is a tough decision for me. I am not even emotional. I don’t want to cry or something. But mostly it’s gratitude and love. I have spent most of my life playing cricket and I feel I’ve reached a stage where I want to rest now – from international and domestic,” Dhawan told Hindustan Times
An Emotional Decision For Dhawan
Dhawan first gained attention during the 2004 U-19 World Cup, where he scored three centuries and accumulated 505 runs. Although he was a late starter in international cricket, Dhawan made his debut for India in 2010 with an ODI against Australia, where he was dismissed for a two-ball duck. The following year, he played four more ODIs against the West Indies, with a top score of 51. It was during the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia that Dhawan truly made his mark, scoring the fastest century on debut, achieved in just 85 balls.
“My Test debut is my personal favourite. I came into the team and made that record. I scored 187. I always used to dream of playing for India and making world records. I wasn’t even aware of the world record. I was just happy to cement my place in the Test team,” said Dhawan.
“Not tough, but it is emotional, yes — but not in the sense of me being sad about it. I feel the emotion of gratitude and love. I have given half of my waking life to cricket, and it’s time now to retire, or rather, give ‘vishraam’ to it. I’m totally enjoying relaxing and spending time at home,” Dhawan told Hindustan Times.
Dhawan also mentioned that his retirement will not mean that all the fame he has will be lost, he even added that he is inside the hearts of his fans even if he is not playing cricket. His fans will always love him for the kind of person he is.
“Why will I lose fame if I give up cricket? Who knows, the fame might increase also. Main logon ke dilon mein basa hua hoon. Not only through cricket…sometimes even through my Instagram reels (laughs). I’m definite that the love I get from people will continue to grow,” he added.
His international career, which ended with his last appearance in a December 2022 ODI against Bangladesh, saw him amass 10,867 runs in 269 matches, including 24 centuries and 44 fifties. Dhawan has been a cornerstone of Indian batting throughout the past decade.
