A man for the big stage, Shikhar Dhawan will be remembered for his endearing smile and resilient spirit

For scores of Indian cricket fans, the most striking news of the day probably wasn’t broken by newspapers but by social media. Shikhar Dhawan uploaded a 1:17 minute emotional and heart-touching video on his account early morning, calling time on his highly successful cricket career. “I say to myself, don’t be unhappy that you won’t play for India anymore, but be happy that you played for India. And this is the biggest thing for me, that I played (for India),” Dhawan said at the end of the video.

Are your eyes moist?

They might have been for a few moments, but such is Dhawan’s class and career that the farewell blues were quickly replaced with fond memories. Social media was flooded with posts about how his smile would never be forgotten and that he was one of those rare players who never appeared insecure. A remarkable achievement, isn’t it?

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Being remembered for your smile, spirit, and fight when you step away from the game is a testament to the fact that you were more than just a player. You touched the hearts of fans not just with wins and runs but by forming an emotional bond with them. That, in a nutshell, is what Dhawan represented throughout his career.

#FPVideo: @SDhawan25 has officially retired from international and domestic cricket. The 38-year-old left-handed opener shared his decision through a heartfelt video on social media for fans. pic.twitter.com/6JcropXTxd

— Firstpost (@firstpost) August 24, 2024

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He fought hard even when he wasn’t the most naturally talented, as Sanjay Manjrekar noted in his tribute. Yet, he still managed to carve out a noticeable space for himself as a modern-day great alongside Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. And when he was down, he never complained.

The earliest memories of Dhawan date back to the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, where he smashed three centuries. However, inconsistency in domestic cricket kept him from earning a senior India cap for six more years. It wasn’t until 2010 that he got his chance, playing in an ODI against Australia at home — where he was dismissed for a duck.

A few more ODIs and T20Is came his way in 2011, but after a year without international action in 2012, his life changed in 2013 with his Test debut. With India desperate to find replacements for Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir as openers, the selectors placed their faith in Dhawan, and this time, ‘Gabbar’ seized the opportunity with both hands.

A blistering long-format debut at 27 saw him make the record for the fastest ton (85 balls) as he smashed 187 off just 174 and India defeated Australia by six wickets to Mohali. From thereon, there was no turning back. The next two matches, ODIs this time, saw ‘Mr ICC’ come into his own as he cracked back-to-back hundreds in the 2013 Champions Trophy, scored the tournament-highest 363 runs, and helped Team India conquer the ICC trophy.

He was the highest run-getter for India in the 2015 ODI World Cup and the tournament top-scorer in the 2017 Champions Trophy as well, besides scoring the most runs for Men in Blue at the 2014 and 2018 Asia Cups.

A late bloomer, one of Dhawan’s biggest strengths was his consistency as an opener across the three formats as he gave India a major relief in replacing some of the biggest names. He played in 34 Tests and 68 T20Is and while one would say he won’t be remembered for smothering the swing and hitting the biggest sixes, which eventually saw him run out of favour in the two formats, he did good enough for himself, scoring over 4,000 runs in just 102 international matches including seven hundreds and 16 fifties.

In ODIs, he was a different beast, no less a player than Rohit and Kohli. His friendship with Rohit is well talked about and together they scored 5,148 runs (fourth best in world cricket) in 115 matches at a strike rate of 45.55.

He alone scored 6,793 runs in 167 matches at an average of 44.11 and strike rate of 91.35 and hit 17 hundreds and 39 fifties. There are only eight batters in ODIs who have scored 5000 runs at an average of over 40 and have a strike rate of over 90. Dhawan is one of them.

His limitations in Tests saw him struggle outside Asia, with only 912 runs coming at an average of 26.82 in 34 innings. But things were distinctively opposite in ODIs where he averaged 44.03 outside Asia. In the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries, he averaged 46.68.

In ODIs, Dhawan mastered the art of pacing innings and navigating tight situations. His cover drives, square cuts, pull shots, slog hits to long-on, and charging down the track to spinners — all of these elements of his exquisite batting are etched in the memories of fans who closely followed Team India during Dhawan’s prime.

His career, however, isn’t just limited to runs or thigh-five celebrations. He captained India in multiple series’ during the latter part of his career when seniors were rested during tours of Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe and formed a strong bond with the youngsters as a mentor which was well reflected in his Instagram posts.

Even when he was pushed out of the team to accommodate Shubman Gill as an all-formats opener, Dhawan accepted it gracefully.

“Every career has a shelf life…Gill has replaced me and he is doing very well…I am very happy for him. If I was a selector I would pick Gill over Shikhar,” he said during a TV interview last year.

Even personal turmoil with his ex-wife was handled respectfully without any public slander or rumours.

Now at 38, as Dhawan rides off into the sunset, his smile and fighting spirit will be cherished for a long time.