“Injuries were part of Shikhar’s career and probably helped him make the decision to quit the game” – Sunil Gavaskar on Shikhar Dhawan’s retirement

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels injuries cut short Shikhar Dhawan’s career and helped him in making the retirement decision. Dhawan decided to call time on his glorious career on Saturday after not being part of the national team in the last couple of years.

Dhawan suffered a hairline thumb fracture when he scored a fine hundred against Australia in the 2019 World Cup and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament. The left-hander also suffered a shoulder injury in IPL 2024 and he could only play five matches while leading Punjab Kings.

In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote, “In later years, injuries were part of Shikhar’s career, which seldom allowed him to fully display his skill and probably helped him make the decision to quit the game while he was still enjoying being part of the circuit. But as befalls opening batters, a lean series or tournament can mean the selectors wielding the axe.”

The Little Master admitted taking retirement call is the toughest thing to do in a player’s career.

“Taking that call is the hardest thing to do. But when the body tells the mind, ‘Enough, enough’, then that’s the right time to go. Shikhar Dhawan’s retirement from all forms of the game is going to leave the sport poorer than before. The ever-smiling, ever-positive Shikhar, also fondly called ‘Gabbar’, was a player of enormous talent,” said Gavaskar.

The left-hander played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is scoring 2315, 6793, and 1579 runs respectively in the three formats. Dhawan will definitely go down as one of India’s finest openers in ODIs and he made a potent alliance with Rohit Sharma.

After taking his retirement, Dhawan has signed up Legends League Cricket.