3 times Shikhar Dhawan won hearts with his gestures

Shikhar Dhawan has lately been discarded by the Indian selectors as they look towards other young batters. As such, his international career appears to be over. If he has indeed played his last game for the country, he can look back at his career with a lot of pride.

Dhawan, 37, has represented India 269 times across the three formats since making his international debut back in 2010. While he enjoyed decent success in Tests and T20Is, it was in the ODI format that he flourished as an opener. Along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he formed a top-3 which was regarded as one of the best of it's time.

Dhawan was also a bankable player in ICC tournaments often playing match-winning knocks in crucial games. While he has earned the love of fans for his batting, he has also impressed the masses with his celebrations and fun demeanor.

The latest proof of his camraderie came yesterday when he wished the Indian team luck for the upcoming World Cup despite failing to make the cut. On that note, here's a look at three other occasions when Shikhar Dhawan won hearts with his gestures:

#1 Tweet wishing Shoaib Malik a speedy recovery

In January 2018, Pakistan were playing an ODI series against New-Zealand. In the fourth game of the series Pakistani batter, Shoaib Malik was hit on the head while attempting to take a quick single. The throw from Colin Munro hit him at the back of his head and unfortunately for Malik, he wasn't wearing a helmet.

He paid the price for it and the medical staff had to intervene. Shikhar Dhawan sent out a tweet, wishing his cricketing rival Malik a speedy recovery which impressed fans and pundits. Fans lauded him for his sportsmanship and Malik, on his part replied to his tweet with an emoji. The hit did not cause any serious injury, much to the relief of everyone.

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#2 Recent statement on Shubman Gill

Back in March, Shikhar Dhawan was interviewed by a popular news portal, Aaj Tak. It was around that time that he had lost his spot in the Indian Team, owing to indifferent form and the meteoric rise of Shubman Gill.

In the interview, Dhawan was asked if he would pick himself if he was a selector. Dhawan went on to heap heavy praise on Gill, citing the young man's recent performances in Tests and ODIs.

He was then asked to put himelf in the shoes of a selector and choose betwen himself and Gill. Dhawan said that he would prefer Gill, an answer that left everyone in awe. Moreover, he has praised the likes of Gill and Ishan Kishan on social-media despite them being his direct competitors for the opening slot. All these selfless gestures have earned him a lot of respect from people.

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#3 Donation to Pulwama Martyrs' families

In February 2019, Shikhar Dhawan pledged to donate money to the families of the 40 CRPF Jawans who were killed in the terror attack at Pulwama. The southpaw took to social media to post a rather emotional video in which he also urged the people of the country to come forward and support the families of the martyred soldiers.

"This is the least we can do. Jis se jitna ban pade, utna zaroor karein. Jai Hind', Dhawan wrote.

Other cricketers like Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli also donated money to the cause.