Shikhar Dhawan: Interesting facts about the 'Gabbar' of Cricket
Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from cricket on Saturday, expressing his desire to focus on the next chapter of his life. The 38-year-old last played competitively as captain of the Punjab Kings in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament.
The left-hander scored 2,315 runs with seven centuries over 34 Tests. He was prolific in ODIs, scoring 6,793 runs from 167 matches at an average of 44.11.
Dhawan represented four other teams in the IPL besides Punjab and he is the tournament's second-highest run-scorer after Virat Kohli. His 6,769 IPL runs came across 221 innings at a strike rate of 127.14.
He last played for India in an ODI series against Bangladesh in December 2022.
Facts about the star batsman
- Born in Delhi on December 5, 1985, to Sunaina and Mahendra Pal Dhawan, he attended St. Mark’s Senior Secondary Public School in Meera Bagh.
- Dhawan began training at Sonnet Club under renowned coach Tarak Sinha at the age of 12.
- He started his professional cricket career at 14 with Delhi Under-16 in the 1999 Vijay Merchant Trophy, where he was the top run-scorer.
- Dhawan made a splash on the cricket scene with a stellar performance at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, where he scored 505 runs and won the Player of the Match award.
- His memorable Test debut in 2013 against Australia solidified his position in the Indian team.
- Dhawan progressed quickly, joining the India Under-17 team and later the Delhi Under-19 team at just 15 years old.
- In 2004, he made his first-class debut for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy following his success at the Under-19 World Cup.
- Dhawan made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Australia in October 2010.
- In 2013, he set the record for the fastest Test century by a debutant, scoring 100 runs in 85 balls against Australia.
- In the 2022 IPL season, playing for the Punjab Kings, Dhawan became the second player to reach 6,000 IPL runs, following Virat Kohli.