Shikhar Dhawan retirement: From dream Test debut to Champions Trophy heroics, 5 times ‘Gabbar’ stole the show

Senior cricketer Shikhar Dhawan announced early on Saturday that he was taking retirement from international and domestic cricket via his social media handles. The left-handed batter was once amongst the constants of Indian team but had lost favour with the selectors for the last couple of years. Despite his recence absence from the team, Dhawan did play quite a few knocks where his class was on full display. Here's a look at the top knocks of one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket.

Top 5 knocks of Shikhar Dhawan:

1) Champions Trophy Heroics:

MS Dhoni played a gamble by bringing Dhawan and Rohit together during the inaugural clash of the Champions Trophy against South Africa in Cardiff on June 6, 2013. Looking back, it turned out to be the start of one of the most dreadful cricketing opening partnerships of all time, with the duo 127 runs for the opening partnership in Cardiff and continued to add 17 more 100 plus partnerships in the future.

Dhawan for his part, scored 114 runs off 94 balls and put pressure on the Proteas bowlers from the start, setting the tone of the match and in extension of the tournament to come.

2) Dream Test Debut:

Dhawan replaced a struggling Virender Sehwag in the playing XI to make his debut for India in the Test format for the 3rd match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. While many batsman before and after him have started off their international Test career with a century, none perhaps have been so dominating than Gabbar.

27-year-old Dhawan took on all Australian bowlers in a fashion that would soon become accustomed to Indian viewers for years to come. The left hander broke the record for fastest century by a player on Test debut getting to the milestone in just 85 balls. Ultimately, Dhawan (187) remained 13 runs short of a well deserved double century but the destruction was done by then, with India ultimately ending the innings at a score of 499.

3) ODI World Cup 2015:

Prior to the start of ODI World Cup 2015, Dhawan had struggled to perform in Australia but as if some switch clicked in his head during the marquee event and Gabbar was in full swing during the match against South Africa. Dhawan scored 137 runs (146 balls) to set the tone for the match and help the Men in Blue post a total of 307 in their 50 overs. Meanwhile, Indian bowlers reigned bowl on the Proteas batters and ended their innings for just 177, leading to a comfortable 130 run victory.

4) Sri Lanka series 2017:

Team India would have been in a bit of pickle after losing opener Abhinav Mukund early during the 1st Test match at Galle in 2017 but Dhawan and Cheteshware Pujara came forward to build a strong 253 run partnership with the left hander doing the bulk of the scoring and ultimately scoring 190 runs in the innings.

5) Playing with a broken thumb:

During the 2019 World Cup opener against Australia, Dhawan faced off against Aussie pacers with a fractured thumb, surviving with a few painkillers. However, Dhawan showed his mettle in the game by not only surviving but also thriving and ultimately scoring 117 runs (92 coming after thumb was fractured) off 92 balls and helped the Men in Blue post a total of 352 in their 50 overs which turned out to be too much for the Kangaroos.