Veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan retired from all formats of international cricket on Saturday, August 24. 38-year-old Dhawan is popularly known as Gabbar among his fans.
Dhawan’s average in Champions Trophy and ODI World Cup is higher than Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. He has scored 1238 runs at an average of 65.15. He is the best batsman to score more than 1000 runs in both these tournaments. Shikhar is the fastest batsman to score a century on debut Test. He scored a century off 85 balls. Dhawan has played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is for India.
1. India’s top scorer in the debut Test, also scored the fastest century
Shikhar Dhawan played a hundred innings of 187 runs in the debut Test. He became the highest-scoring Indian batsman on Test debut. Dhawan is at number 8 among batsmen around the world. Dhawan scored a century against Australia in Mohali in just 85 balls, which is the fastest century on debut.
As I close this chapter of my cricketing journey, I carry with me countless memories and gratitude. Thank you for the love and support! Jai Hind! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/QKxRH55Lgx
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) August 24, 2024
2. Best average in Champions Trophy and World Cup
Dhawan scored at an average of 65.15 during the Champions Trophy and ODI World Cup. Among the 51 batsmen who scored at least one thousand runs in these two tournaments, Dhawan’s average is the highest. However, Kohli (64.55) is not behind him in this matter. Dhawan averaged 53.70 in the ODI World Cup (10 innings) and 77.88 in the Champions Trophy (10 innings). He scored 6 centuries in 20 innings and crossed the 50 mark 10 times.
3. Shared 18 centuries with Rohit
Shikhar Dhawan shared 18 centuries in ODIs while opening with Rohit Sharma. The duo is the second most successful Indian pairing after Tendulkar-Ganguly. The opening pair of Sachin and Sourav have shared 21 centuries. Rohit and Dhawan shared a total of 5148 runs, which is the fourth overall opening partnership.
4. 6 thousand runs scored in 140 innings, only 4 batsmen could do this
Shikhar scored 6000 ODI runs in 140 innings. Only 4 batsmen have achieved this feat in fewer innings than Dhawan. These include Hashim Amla, Kohli, Kane Williamson and David Warner.
5. Among the 10 batsmen to score a century in 100th ODI
Shikhar Dhawan played an innings of 109 runs against South Africa in his 100th ODI match. Dhawan’s name is also included among the 10 batsmen who scored a century in the 100th match in this format.
6. Hit the most fours in IPL, top-2 scorers in the league
Shikhar Dhawan has scored 6769 runs in the Indian Premier League. He is the second highest scorer in IPL. Kohli has scored 8004 more runs than Dhawan. Dhawan’s 768 fours in the IPL is the most by any batsman in the league. He is followed by Kohli, who has hit 705 fours.
7. Scored 500+ runs 5 times in an IPL season, 4th batsman
Shikhar Dhawan has scored more than 500 runs in an IPL season 5 times. He scored more than 500 runs 5 times (2012, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021). Only Virat Kohli (7 times), David Warner (7 times) and KL Rahul (6 times) have scored more 500-plus runs in an IPL season than Dhawan. In 2018, Dhawan missed out on 500 runs by a few runs. He scored 497 runs in that season.
Now some interesting facts about Dhawan
In Asia, Dhawan scored runs at a Test average of 61. In 24 innings he scored 1403 runs with six centuries, although in 34 innings played outside Asia he scored only 982 runs at an average of 26.82 and one century.
Dhawan has scored 12 out of 17 centuries in ODIs outside India. He has scored runs at an average of 44.03 and a strike rate of 89.34 in ODIs outside Asia. This record is even better than that of Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand. In the total of 69 innings played in these four countries, he scored runs at an average of 46.68 and a strike rate of 91.73 and also scored eight centuries.
When he scored a century with a fractured thumb
During the 2019 ODI World Cup, Pat Cummins hit the toe of Shikhar Dhawan against Australia. Dhawan’s thumb was broken by a 150 kmph ball but Shikhar continued to bat with the broken thumb. He scored a century in this match. He played an innings of 117 runs. Dhawan had described it as his favourite.
In this match, Dhawan shared an opening partnership of 127 runs with Rohit Sharma and 93 runs with Virat Kohli. Dhawan’s innings included 16 fours. India won this match by 36 runs.