Shikhar Dhawan, the former Indian opener, has revealed that he retired from cricket due to a lack of inspiration to pursue domestic cricket for a place in the national team. Dhawan, who played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is for India between 2013 and 2022, announced his retirement in August 2023.
Dhawan stated that he had lost the motivation to play domestic cricket, which he had started at a young age. He felt that continuing to play only in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was not enough to maintain his touch and be considered for national selection.
“I thought that continuing IPL and just coming up with two, three months of hard work won’t be enough for me to go and play,” Dhawan said.
Dhawan, who captained Punjab Kings in the IPL, realized that practicing for a few months before the tournament would not be sufficient to earn him a national call-up. He also expressed satisfaction with his achievements in his career.
“I was very happy and satisfied and content with whatever I achieved in my career, and very, very grateful for everything,” he said.
Dhawan praised Rohit Sharma’s leadership as India’s captain, highlighting the team’s T20 World Cup victory under his guidance. He also acknowledged India’s near-miss in the ODI World Cup.
“We were very close in (winning) the ODI World Cup as well, and now we achieved that goal in T20Is,” Dhawan said.
Dhawan’s retirement marks the end of a successful career for the left-handed opener. He is known for his aggressive batting style and has been a key member of India’s limited-overs teams. He holds the record for the highest partnership runs in career for any wicket with Rohit Sharma, having added 5,193 runs in 117 matches.
