"You’re still young": Ravi Shastri’s touching message to Shikhar Dhawan post-retirement

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri penned a heartfelt message for Shikhar Dhawan on his retirement from international and domestic cricket. In his post, Shastri claimed that Dhawan is still young and still has a lot to contribute to the sport.

Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from cricket on August 24 (Saturday). In a video message on his social media handle, he thanked everyone involved in his career, including Ravi Shastri, who was India's head coach during his playing days.

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Ravi Shastri wishes Shikhar Dhawan good luck on his retirement

In his post, Ravi Shastri spoke about the time when they shared the dressing room together. Shastri has served as India's director before becoming the head coach of the national team. At that time, Dhawan was at his prime and scoring runs heavily for India.

"Enjoy your retirement, Shiki Boy! You brought me so much joy and entertainment during my 7 years as coach and director. Your match-winning innings in ICC tournaments, Asia Cups, and that unforgettable knock in Galle will always be remembered. You’re still young and have plenty of ways to contribute to the sport. God bless🙌 @SDhawan25," Shastri posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Enjoy your retirement, Shiki Boy! You brought me so much joy and entertainment during my 7 years as coach and director. Your match-winning innings in ICC tournaments, Asia Cups, and that unforgettable knock in Galle will always be remembered. You’re still young and have plenty of… https://t.co/F6uATUaFnV

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) August 25, 2024

Shikhar Dhawan and Ravi Shastri shared a fantastic camaraderie both on and off the field. As India's head coach, Ravi Shastri backed Dhawan during his bad form and Dhawan repaid the faith by scoring runs when it mattered the most.

Shikhar Dhawan's record in ICC tournaments

Shikhar Dhawan has a fantastic ODI record, especially in big ICC tournaments. In 164 ODIs, he scored 6793 runs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35 with 17 hundreds and 39 fifties.

But it's the ICC tournaments where Dhawan brought out his best. In the ODI World Cups and Champions Trophy, he scored 1238 runs in 20 innings at an average of 65.15 and a strike rate of 98.25 with 6 hundreds. His average of 65.15 is the highest among all players with a minimum of 1000 runs.

One of the most successful openers for India

Shikhar Dhawan's career took an upright path from the 2013 Champions Trophy where he emerged as the highest run-scorer of the tournament and helped India win the championship. Since then, he never looked back and established himself as one of the most successful openers in ODIs for India.

Dhawan also holds the record for the fastest century by a player on Test debut. He reached his hundred off just 85 balls against Australia on his Test debut at Mohali. However, his Test career could not go too far and he went on to play 34 Tests for India, scoring 2315 runs at an average of 40.61.