"Happy that he served country for many years": Shikhar Dhawan's childhood coach following his retirement

NEW DELHI: Following star Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan's retirement, his childhood coach Madan Sharma shared his thoughts saying that he is really happy that the southpaw played for the country for so many years.

Dhawan on Saturday announced his retirement from international as well as domestic cricket. "I feel sad that now he will not be playing for the country, state, IPL. But at the same time, I am happy that he served the country for many years. He performed well and won many ICC trophies. As an opener, he earned a good name...I have seen his whole cricketing journey...It is a very proud moment for us that a trainee player from our club played very well for India," Dhawan's childhood coach said while speaking to ANI.

The 38-year-old brought the curtains down on his illustrious career by taking to Instagram and sharing an emotional message to announce his decision. He thanked everyone who supported him in his remarkable career, which saw him earn various accolades.

"I am standing at a point where when I look back, I only see memories and a new life when I look forward. It was always my dream to play for India, and I got to live it. I am thankful to a lot of people for that. First of all, my family, my childhood coaches and then my team that I played with for so many years. I got a new family, fame and love. But it is said that to move forward, you need to flip the pages," Dhawan said in a video posted on his official Instagram handle.

"I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket. As I bid farewell to my cricketing journey, I have peace in my heart. I played a lot for my country. I only say this to myself, that you don't need to be upset about not playing for your country again, but be happy that you had the opportunity to do so," he concluded.

In his illustrious career, runs effortlessly came off Dhawan's bat. He represented India across all formats, but ODI was his forte. In 167 appearances, the left-hand batter 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.