One of the top opening batsmen in the history of India, Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from cricket via an emotional video on social media.

Following the news of his retirement, many former and current cricketers took the time to congratulate ‘Gabbar’ on a wonderful career.

India’s batting lineups spearheaded by the deadly opening partnership of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma followed by Virat Kohli at number three was enough for India to be feared by bowlers around the globe.

“Shikhar @SDhawan25 from your fearless debut to becoming one of India's most dependable openers, you've given us countless memories to cherish. Your passion for the game, your sportsmanship and your trademark smile will be missed, but your legacy lives on. Thank you for the memories, unforgettable performances and always leading with your heart. Wishing you the best in your next innings, off the field Gabbar!” wrote Kohli on his partner’s retirement.

Dhawan and Virat Kohli played together for India from 2011-2022 in which they partnered up on 60 different occasions. The duo combined for 3430 runs and averaged a partnership score of 60.17 whilst stitching 10 centuries and 15 half-centuries

The ‘Rohit Dhawan’ pair

Over the course of a 12 year period, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan curated their reputation as one of the best opening partnerships in the game’s history. Following Dhawan’s retirement announcement, Rohit took the time to thank ‘The Ultimate Jatt’ for his services to the game and the country.

“From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT. @SDhawan25.” read the post by Rohit Sharma.

Together the Hitman and Gabbar batted together on 117 occasions and together scored 5193 runs which included 18 centuries and 15 half centuries. with their best ever innings being the 210 run partnership they stitched against Pakistan in the 2018 Asia Cup. In 117 innings they maintained a slot average partnership of 45.15.

Rohit and Dhawan are the third most successful batting partnership in the history of Indian cricket only behind Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli. Their outings also saw them placed at eighth place in the most successful partnership list.

In Dhawan’s 13-year long international career, in which he played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is scoring 2315, 6793 and 1579 runs respectively in the three formats. Alongside his impeccable international career, Dhawan went on to represent Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Punjab in the Indian Premier League where he played 222 games whilst scoring 6769 runs which included two centuries and 51 half-centuries.

Dhawan's final appearance for India was in an ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022 while his last T20I was in Sri Lanka in July 2021. He hadn't played a Test for India since 2018.

(Compiled from syndicated feed)

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