"Popped Painkillers And…": Dhawan Picks His Favourite Knock For India

Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket through a video message on social media on Saturday. During his illustrious career with the Indian cricket team, Dhawan played a number of sensational knocks on the international stage. The left-handed batter impressed everyone with a brilliant 187 on Test debut against Australia. However, Dhawan picked his knock of 117 against Australia during the 2019 World Cup as his favourite as it showcased his grit and determination.

During the ninth over of the match, a delivery from Pat Cummins hit Dhawan’s thumb and it was later revealed that it led to a fracture. However, Dhawan did not leave the field and continued batting after taking painkillers. He eventually went on to score a brilliant hundred.

“I have a few favourite innings that are close to my heart, especially the 2019 World Cup. We were playing a match against Australia. I was batting on 25 when I broke my thumb. The ball came at 150 clicks and hit my here (pointing towards his left thumb). I popped painkillers and scored 117 from there,” Dhawan told Hindustan Times.

“The MCG one was also a very good knock of mine. More so because I wasn’t scoring runs prior to it. I am thankful to Dhoni for backing me and persisting with me in the World Cup. I was always able to play well in ODIs, but the occasional dip in form is inevitable. That’s when I scored those 137 runs. I like that one too,” Dhawan added.

A product of Sonnet Club and a fighter from West Delhi, Dhawan appeared in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is for India but had fallen out of favour in the last couple of years due to patchy form and emergence of younger opening talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.

His best came in the 50-over format in which he amassed 6793 runs at an average of 44.11, including 17 hundreds and 39 fifties. He averaged 40.61 for his 2315 Test runs, which featured seven centuries.

(With PTI inputs)