"Knew it would be difficult for me to return": Shikhar opens up on losing team spot to Gill

Dhawan last appeared in an ODI match on December 10, 2022 against Bangladesh at Chattogram. He had been out of the Test squad from September 2018. His last long-format match was against England at The Oval. The 39-year-old had been a big in the 20-over format, his last T20I match was in July 2021 against Sri Lanka at Colombo.

Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket in August last year.

The 39-year-old brought the curtains down on his illustrious career by taking to Instagram and sharing an emotional message to announce his decision.

"I knew that it would be difficult for me to return. Practically, when I thought about it... If someone's too emotional, then the whole world shakes for them. So it's important to have a little detachment and gap... at that time, when Shubman Gill came... he was playing two formats and doing well in them... I was doing well in T20. I was doing well in the Test. It was in front of my eyes. I used to come, I used to go... There was a break in the flow. Now, the one who is doing well has come. And at that time, one or two of my series didn't go well. My Bangladesh series didn't go well. Before that, I was leading in New Zealand. I was making 50-70 runs. But that's life. Everything doesn't happen in the proper way... Or there will be such shocks that you won't know. So for that, you need to be emotionally strong," Dhawan told ANI.

Asked about his time leading the Indian team, the former left-handed batter said that he had enjoyed his time donning the captain's hat. Dhawan added that he has become more confident in his decisions after leading the Men in Blue.

"I enjoyed it and I've learned so much as well. Like when I did it the first year and now when I do it, I feel mature. I feel more confident in my decisions. With that time, my self-belief increased.... I was the captain of the Indian team in the two or three series. So, my results have been very good. Rahul Dravid was the coach. Rahul was there once and VVS Laxman was there once. I had a great time with them... So, I was playing for Indian team for 7-8 years, so I also desired to be a leader. So I started affirming that I'm a leader, I'm doing so well as a leader, performing, and leading from the front... I never thought that I would become the captain of an Indian Team. There were two teams. One team went to England for a Test match and the other one went to Sri Lanka. It was during COVID. So that's when I became the captain and the universe blessed me with that. Then we won that series from there. We won the ODI series. We lost the T20 because a lot of our players got Covid...," he added.

Dhawan had captained the Indian team in the white-ball format, in both T20Is and ODIs. He was named the skipper for India's ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka in 2021.

Dhawan played a vital role in India's 2013 Champions Trophy triumph. He topped the batting charts in the showpiece event, winning the 'Man of the Tournament' award. In five matches, he scored 363 runs at an average of 90.75, with two centuries and one fifty. His best score was 114.

It was the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy that saw Dhawan return to prime form. In India's runner-up finish, it was Dhawan who topped the tournament's batting charts in yet another ICC tournament. He scored 338 runs in five matches at an average of 67.60, with one century and two fifties, with a best score of 125.

In his illustrious career, runs effortlessly came off Dhawan's bat. He represented India across all formats, but ODI was his forte. In 167 ODI appearances, the southpaw produced swashbuckling performances and racked up 6,793 runs at an average of 44.1, including 17 centuries and 39 fifties.

In the longest format of cricket, where he stitched up memorable partnerships with Murali Vijay, Dhawan garnered 2,315 runs in 34 matches at an average of 40.6. His Test career was laced with seven tons and five half-centuries. In the T20I format, Dhawan made 68 appearances and scored 1,759 runs at an average of 27.9, including 11 fifties.

In the domestic circuit, Dhawan played 122 First-Class cricket matches and handsomely scored 8,499 runs at an average of 44.26, including 25 centuries and 29 fifties. In List A, Dhawan played 302 matches and scored a whopping 12,074 runs at an average of 43.90. His remarkable statistics are further glistened by 30 centuries and 67 half-centuries. (ANI)