Indian cricket player Shikhar Dhawan has officially ended his 14-year international cricket career, announcing his retirement in a social media post on Saturday morning.
Dhawan last played a competitive match in April, leading the Punjab Kings in the IPL. He steps away from the game with an impressive record of 24 international centuries (17 in ODIs and seven in Tests) across 269 matches.
In a heartfelt video shared on his social media accounts, Dhawan said, "It's important to turn the 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 so long for India. I've told myself don't feel sad that you won't play for India anymore, but feel happy that you played for the country."
Dhawan retires as one of the modern greats in ODI cricket, becoming one of only eight batters in the format’s history to score over 5,000 runs with a 40-plus average and a 90-plus strike rate -- joining fellow Indians Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on this elite list. Dhawan's last appearance for India was during the ODI series against Bangladesh in December 2022.
Although Dhawan excelled across formats during his career, his ODI achievements stand out the most. He made an immediate impact in Test cricket with a blistering 85-ball century against Australia in Mohali, marking the fastest century by a Test debutant, and went on to score 187 in that match-winning effort.
Dhawan’s career reached its peak in 2013, where he amassed 1,162 runs in ODIs at an average of 50.52 and a strike rate of 97.89. His standout performance came during the Champions Trophy, where he topped the run charts with 363 runs in five innings, including two centuries, helping India secure the title in his first ODI series back after a disappointing 2010-11 run.
This tournament marked the beginning of a successful opening partnership with Rohit Sharma. In terms of run aggregates, their partnership ranks fourth in ODIs and is the second most successful for India, after the iconic duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Dhawan continued his remarkable form beyond the 2013 Champions Trophy, becoming a crucial part of India’s ODI team over the following years. He was the leading run-scorer for India in major ODI tournaments like the Asia Cup 2014, World Cup 2015, Champions Trophy 2017, and Asia Cup 2018.
In 2019, Dhawan's ODI career faced a setback when a thumb injury forced him out of the World Cup in England, just after scoring a century against Australia at The Oval. Despite this, Dhawan’s contributions were recognized with short captaincy stints during the later stages of his career, where he led India’s second-string teams in the absence of regulars.
In the IPL, Dhawan represented teams like Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Punjab Kings, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the league's history, with 6769 runs in 221 innings at a strike rate of 127.14, behind only Virat Kohli.
As a domestic player, Dhawan was a key part of Delhi's Ranji Trophy-winning team in 2007-08 and was the top run-scorer for India at the Under-19 World Cup in 2004.
