And just like this, without any fuss, drama or noise, Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket. The last 10 years, during which Dhawan debuted as a 27-year-old and went on to become an all-time ODI great for India, have simply flown by. He may have taken the backseat to the superstardom of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but between June of 2013 to June of 2023, Dhawan was as crucial to India's ODI success as the other two. Dhawan made his debut in 2010, where he was dismissed for a duck, but it wasn't until 2013 – when he made that blistering Test debut against Australia – that he really became the 'Gabbar' of Indian cricket. In him and Rohit, India had found a brand-new opening pair that would peel off runs across nations and take the team to unprecedented heights of batting for years to come.

However, did you know that Dhawan nearly didn't make it to that Playing XI in Mohali had it not been for a certain former BCCI selector? Sandeep Patil, the then chairman of selectors had seen Virender Sehwag fading – he had scored just 27 runs from three innings in that Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – heading into the 3rd Test at Mohali. Not many would have dared to drop Sehwag but realising how crucial the future was for Indian cricket, Patil pushed Dhawan into the squad. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"Shikhar had form going for him. You have to pick players at the right time when they are among the runs. There are various examples of young players not being picked when they have runs to back them and if they don't get picked, they feel very disappointed and that is not a good thing. Yes, I had to press for his inclusion, and I am so glad he didn’t let me down," Patil told Mid-Day.

'We were laughing', says Vikram Rathour

Dhawan established himself as one of the pillars of Indian batting, beginning that cold morning in Mohali, when he blasted the fastest century by a batter on debut – 85 balls. This was the Australian team we're talking about, on one of India's better pitches for cricket. As Dhawan struck a memorable 187, in hindsight, it was only fitting to see one explosive batter replace another.

Sehwag never played for India again, but Dhawan carved his own legacy through that breathtaking knock at the PCA stadium. As he bludgeoned the Australian bowling attack to all corners of the ground, everyone, including selectors, were shellshocked. Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who was the selector for North Zone, recalled watching Dhawan take full flight against the Aussies, and his perspective is as engaging as that knock 11 years ago.

"It [187] was a phenomenal innings. I remember we were laughing because he scored a run-a-ball 100 or even better than that. I remember him playing a reverse sweep when he was on 90. It was surprising to see somebody who was playing his first Test against a big team, play like that. He was very fearless which was great to see and that is how he played throughout his career," Rathour told the daily.

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