Over a remarkable 12-year period, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan established themselves as one of cricket’s most formidable opening partnerships. Following Shikhar Dhawan’s retirement announcement, Rohit Sharma took a moment to express his gratitude to the man known as ‘The Ultimate Jatt’ for his invaluable contributions to the game and the nation.
Rohit shared a heartfelt message, saying, “From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT. @SDhawan25.”
Together, the dynamic duo, fondly known as the Hitman and Gabbar, opened the batting for India on 117 occasions, amassing 5193 runs, including 18 centuries and 15 half-centuries. Their best partnership came in the 2018 Asia Cup when they forged a 210-run stand against Pakistan. Over their 117 innings, they maintained an impressive average partnership of 45.15.
Rohit and Dhawan rank as the third most successful batting partnership in Indian cricket history, only behind the legendary pairs of Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli. Their performances also earned them the eighth spot on the list of the most successful partnerships in the world.
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Dhawan made his international debut in 2010 and quickly became a fixture in the Indian cricket team, renowned for his explosive batting style and charismatic presence both on and off the field. Throughout his career, he played a pivotal role in numerous victories for India across all formats.
In his 13-year-long international career, Dhawan played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is, scoring 2315, 6793, and 1579 runs, respectively, across the three formats. In addition to his illustrious international career, Dhawan also represented teams like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Over 222 IPL games, he scored 6769 runs, including two centuries and 51 half-centuries.
Dhawan’s final appearance for India came in an ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022, while his last T20I was against Sri Lanka in July 2021. He hadn’t played a Test match for India since 2018.
