When Shikhar Dhawan Wanted To Leave Cricket, Was Hurt When Virat Kohli Was Picked Before Him

Shikhar Dhawan made his domestic cricket debut in 2004 and it took him six years to finally earn his maiden India call-up. A frustrated Shikhar Dhawan wanted to quit cricket. As per his coach, Dhawan was hurt the most when Virat Kohli made it to team India before him. Both played for Delhi together.

Shikhar Dhawan wanted to quit cricket before his India debut. Photo: AP

Shikhar Dhawan drew curtains on his two-decade-long cricketing career and announced his retirement in a post on X. The former India opener thanked the BCCI, DDCA and his fans in his retirement video message. Dhawan first hogged the limelight in the 2004 U19 World Cup. There was no match to Dhawan’s superiority and he piled up 505 runs in only 7 matches. No other batsman even managed to touch the 400-run mark.

He made his domestic cricket debut for Delhi in the 2004/05 season and was expected to make it to Team India soon. But Dhawan had to wait for a long time. He made it to India A and other teams but an India call-up eluded Dhawan for a long time.

As per his coach Tarak Sinha, Dhawan was hurt the most when Virat Kohli made it to Team India before him. Virat was Dhawan’s junior in the Delhi cricket team and led India to a title win in the 2008 U19 World Cup. Speaking to mid-day in 2013, Sinha revealed that Dhawan couldn’t take rejections and wanted to leave cricket.

“He was quite frustrated when his name wouldn’t figure in the India squad. It hurt him the most when his junior Delhi teammate Virat Kohli was picked in the team ahead of him. He would often ask me, ‘I am good enough. Why am I not picked’. There came a phase when he couldn’t take any more rejection and wanted to leave the sport,” Sinha revealed.

“It was quite difficult to convince him to continue with cricket. But I managed to keep him going. I assured him his efforts wouldn’t go waste. I am very happy for him. He has worked very hard and deserves every bit of his success.”

Dhawan made his India debut against Australia in 2010 but departed for a duck in the ODI. He made another comeback in 2011. With India looking for new openers in 2013, Dhawan finally cemented his spot and formed a successful opening pair with Rohit Sharma. They opened the innings in ODIs for nine years.

Dhawan played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is. He also captained India in white-ball cricket in a few matches. A regular in IPL, Dhawan won the elusive trophy with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.