"Thank you Mr. ICC" Fans react as Shikhar Dhawan announces international and domestic retirement

Shikhar Dhawan is one of India’s most successful ODI openers of all time.

On August 24, 2024, 38-year-old Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket, bringing a conclusion to an illustrious 13-year India career.

Dhawan made his ODI debut in 2010 but was dismissed for a duck. He made his first big splash in international cricket in 2013 when he smashed an 85-ball century on test debut against Australia in Mohali, which is the fastest test hundred by a debutant.

His career shot up soon as he helped India win the 2013 Champions Trophy by being the leading run-scorer of the tournament. Dhawan made giant strides in ODI cricket: he was India’s highest scorer in the Asia Cup 2014, World Cup 2015, Champions Trophy 2017 and Asia Cup 2018.

He hammered a century against Australia in the 2019 World Cup but suffered a thumb injury in the game and was ruled out of the tournament. From thereon, his career suffered a slide downward. He played his last ODI in 2022 before being replaced by Shubman Gill as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner.

Overall, Shikhar Dhawan played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is, scoring 2315, 6793 and 1579 runs respectively. The left-hander notched up 17 ODI centuries and seven test hundreds.

In the IPL, he turned up for Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. He’s currently the second-highest run-scorer in the IPL history.

In the video he posted on social media, Shikhar Dhawan said, “I always had one goal in mind that was to play for India and I achieved it thanks to a lot of people. First of all my family, my childhood coaches Tarak Sinha and Madan Sharma, under their guidance, I learnt cricket. Then my entire team with whom I played for years, got another family, fame and everyone’s love and support. As it’s said that to move ahead in the story you need to flip over the pages. Hence, I’m also doing that, I’m announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket.“

Fans hailed Dhawan for his iconic career and applauded his character on and off the field.

Here is how netizens reacted to Shikhar Dhawan’s retirement announcement:

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