Team India’s opener Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from all three formats of international cricket on Saturday morning. He informed about this by posting a video on social media.
Shikhar first joined the ODI team against Australia in 2010. He played his last ODI against Bangladesh in 2022. Since then, he has not got a place in Team India.
Shikhar Dhawan named only 2 childhood coaches in a 1 minute 17 second video.
He posted a 1 minute 17 second video in which he said- Namaskar! Today I am standing at a point from where I can see only memories when I look back and the whole world when I look forward. I always had only one goal, to play for India. That was also accomplished. I am thankful to many people for this, first of all my family, my childhood coach Tarak Sinha ji… Madan Sharma ji, under whom I learned cricket.
After playing in Team India, I got the love of you fans. But as they say, it is necessary to turn the pages to move forward in the story. I am going to do just that. As I end this chapter of my cricket journey, I am taking with me countless memories and gratitude. Thank you for the love and support! Jai Hind…
Shikhar got a place in ODI team in 2010, Test team in 2013
Shikhar made his T20 debut against Sri Lanka in 2011. He got a place in the Test team in 2013. Dhawan scored 2315 runs in 34 Tests at an average of 40.61. He scored 7436 runs in 167 ODIs at an average of 44.11. Whereas, in 68 T20 matches, he has scored 1759 runs at an average of 27.92.
Dhawan played for Punjab Kings in 2024
Shikhar has been associated with IPL since the first season. While announcing his retirement, he did not say anything about playing IPL or not, which suggests that he may continue playing IPL. In the first season 2008, he played his first match for Delhi against Rajasthan Royals. He played his last match for Punjab Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024. This season, he could not play many matches due to injury.
Married in 2012, divorced in 2023
Shikhar Dhawan married Ayesha Mukherjee, who was 10 years older than him, in 2012. Ayesha already had two daughters. The two became friends on Facebook, which turned into love. In 2014, they had a son, Zoravar.
Shikhar and Ayesha separated in 2021. Ayesha had written about her divorce from Shikhar in a post on social media.
On 4 October 2023, the Delhi Family Court granted divorce. The court held that Ayesha had committed mental cruelty against Shikhar. The court accepted Dhawan’s allegations in the divorce petition on the ground that Ayesha either did not oppose them or failed to defend herself.