Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from cricket on 24 August 2024. He was 38. He had been a regular in India's white-ball sides for more than a decade, but his Test and ODI career had slowed in recent years.
What defined him
Dhawan was an ICC-tournament player. He was the leading run-scorer and Player of the Tournament at the 2013 Champions Trophy, which India won, and the leading Indian run-scorer at the 2015 World Cup. In 2018 he scored a century before lunch on the first day of a Test against Afghanistan.
His Test debut remains one of the best on record. Against Australia at Mohali in March 2013 he made 187 off 174 balls, the fastest hundred by any batter on Test debut (85 balls) and the highest score by an Indian on debut.
The numbers he finished with
He played 34 Tests for 2,315 runs at 40.61, with seven hundreds and a top score of 190. His last Test was against England on 7 September 2018. In ODIs he scored 6,793 runs in 167 matches at 44.11 with 17 hundreds, and in T20Is 1,759 runs in 68 matches. He also won the 2016 and 2018 Asia Cups with India, and was in the side that finished runners-up at the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Beyond India's team
Dhawan played for Delhi from 2004 to 2024 and in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings. In August 2013 he made 248 off 150 balls for India A against South Africa A, then the second-highest score in List A cricket. He was also the first Indian to score a century in his 100th ODI, against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Why the end came
Dhawan did not give one detailed reason. What is on record is that he had gone through phases of inconsistent form in domestic and international cricket.
Where to read more
For the career in full, see our Dhawan career profile. Retirement date and career facts are from Shikhar Dhawan (Wikipedia).
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