Shikhar Dhawan brought his illustrious international career to a close on Saturday, announcing his retirement from both international and domestic cricket. Since making his debut for India in 2010, Dhawan became an integral figure in the team, especially in white-ball formats. Renowned as one of India’s premier openers, Dhawan’s record in ODIs stands out with 6,793 runs from 167 matches at an average of 44.11.

His dynamic partnership with Rohit Sharma, which began in 2013, marked a golden chapter in Indian cricket history.

Dhawan’s arrival at the top of the order coincided with a transition period for Indian cricket. Following Sachin Tendulkar's white-ball retirement and Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir's loss of places due to poor form, the team was in search of stability at the opening spots. The promotion of Rohit Sharma to the opening spot alongside Dhawan was, thus, a strategic move by then-captain MS Dhoni aimed at revitalising the Indian top-order.

This decision proved pivotal, culminating in India’s victorious campaign at the 2013 Champions Trophy, where Dhawan emerged as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 363 runs in five matches.

The duo of Dhawan and Rohit set a strong foundation for India, with Dhawan’s aggressive batting style complementing Rohit’s approach. Their partnership was key to India’s many successes, with Virat Kohli’s consistent performance at No. 3 adding further strength to the top order. This trio’s formidable presence defined India’s dominance in white-ball cricket for much of the decade.

Reflecting on his career, Dhawan remembered the time he spent sharing the dressing room alongside the batting stalwarts, and also expressed gratitude to the coaches who played a pivotal role in his journey. In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times, Dhawan shared his appreciation for the support he received and the memorable moments he experienced.

"So many coaches have played a part in my career. Duncan Fletcher, Sanjay Bangar, Vikram Rathour, Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri. Then all the fielding coaches, batting coaches. I am thankful to all of them who worked on me.

“We were part of a beautiful journey together. I clearly remember that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and I scored 100 centuries in 5 years. Ravi bhai was our coach then. Even NCA has played such a huge role, understood how training and rehab is done whenever I got injured. And a big thank you to the BCCI as well,” Dhawan said.

An era of dominance

Between June 2013 to June 2019, the trio of Dhawan, Rohit, and Kohli smashed an incredible 103 centuries across all formats between them. While Kohli led the century-scoring charts with 49 hundreds to his name, Rohit, who currently leads the Indian team in ODIs and Tests, scored 30 tons during this time. Dhawan played 207 matches in these five years, scoring 23 centuries and 40 fifties.

After the 2019 World Cup, Shikhar Dhawan's position in the Indian team began to wane due to the impressive performances of KL Rahul and the rise of emerging talents such as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Dhawan's final appearance for India came in 2022 during an ODI series against New Zealand.

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