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The cricket community extended warm wishes to Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan as he turned 38 on Tuesday (December 5).
Dhawan was last seen in action during IPL 2023 when he led the Punjab Kings side. He has been out of the reckoning for selection in Indian squads across formats after the Bangladesh tour last year.
Youngsters Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan performed well in the opening role and forced the selectors to look beyond Dhawan. As a result, the southpaw missed the recently concluded 2023 ODI World Cup, where India lost in the final against Australia.
Shikhar Dhawan made his international cricket debut in 2010 with an ODI against Australia in Vizag. Across 167 ODIs so far, he has amassed 6,793 runs at an average of 44.11, including 17 centuries.
He and Rohit Sharma formed a great partnership at the top over the last decade, contributing to the success of the Indian team in limited-overs cricket. Dhawan was also the man for Team India in the ICC tournaments in the last decade, as he scored a heap of runs in them. It will be interesting to see if he gets another chance to play for India again before hanging up his boots.
On the occasion of his 38th birthday, fans were quick to wish him well on social media platforms. Here are some of the wishes:
Punjab Kings retained Shikhar Dhawan ahead of IPL 2024 mini auction
Shikhar Dhawan did not have a great season as captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) this year as they finished eighth in the points table. His campaign was also hampered by fitness issues, forcing him to miss a few games.
Across 11 games, he managed to score 373 runs at an average of 41.44. The Punjab Kings management have shown their faith in the experienced batter as they retained him for the upcoming season.
Players retained by PBKS for IPL 2024: Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Shivam Singh, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kagiso Rabada and Nathan Ellis.
Player released by PBKS: Raj Angad Bawa, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mohit Rathee, Shahrukh Khan and Baltej Dhanda.
