“You only have a certain age till you can play” – Shikhar Dhawan opens up on retirement plans

India’s veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan has opened up on his retirement plans. Dhawan said one can only play till a certain age. The left-hander played five matches for Punjab Kings in IPL 2024 before he was ruled out with an injury.

The southpaw scored 152 runs in five games at an average of 30.40 and a strike rate of 125.61. After Dhawan was ruled out, Sam Curran led the team in the next eight games and then Jitesh Sharma led in the final league stage game. PBKS won five out of their 14 matches and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Shikhar Dhawan said in an interview with ANI, “I am also going through a transition ‘Jahan Meri Cricket Vishram Pe Aayegi’ (Where my cricket will arrive at a resting phase) and a new chapter in my life will start. You only have a certain age till you can play. It could be one year more, two years more, or xyz for me.”

Dhawan revealed he is yet to recover from the injury which he suffered in the IPL.

“Unfortunately I got injured this IPL season and could not play for Punjab except for 4-5 matches. It takes time to recover. I am still healing. I have not recovered 100 per cent yet.”

The veteran left-hander gave his best wishes to Team India for the upcoming T20 World Cup. 

“It’s great to see players like Shivam Dube, Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal), and Sanju (Samson) getting their deserved spots in the ICC tournament and we got a very balanced side and we got to play really good cricket. Good luck Team India and we are all rooting for you guys.”

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5th.