On his departure from the Indian team, Shikhar Dhawan states, “My career was over when…”

Although Shikhar Dhawan was one of the best opening batsmen India has ever produced in the last 10–15 years, he didn’t leave the squad on the greatest of notes. Dhawan abruptly discovered that he was no longer needed in the early 2020s, even though he had always performed well in the white-ball cricketing arena. In 2018, his departure from Test cricket was already confirmed, but it soon grew harder for him to secure a place in the white-ball teams. Dhawan has spoken candidly about the reasons for his departure from the squad in an interview.

Dhawan expected to be selected for India’s 2021 T20 World Cup squad. However, if he wasn’t called up, he didn’t even bother to contact anyone on the team or the selection committee. Despite his disappointment, Dhawan chose to go ahead.

“I could feel that my name wasn’t going to come. You’re not going to be spoon-fed for everything,” Dhawan told the Hindustan Times. Following the release of the T20 World Cup team, he “never bothered to call anyone.” “I didn’t ask anyone why my name didn’t come. Even if I had questioned them, they would have had their own opinion on the matter, and I will be sharing my own narrative. It makes no sense and doesn’t alter anything.

Despite his long-term teammates Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma making the cut, Dhawan was not even in the conversation for the 2023 World Cup at home when it came to ODIs. Asked if he deserved a batter exit, Dhawan responded that Shubman Gill’s actions at the moment made it hard for the selectors to choose him.

“There is now just one perspective to see it that way. Another perspective is that Shubman Gill was also performing well in Tests and T20s at the time. I’m not as involved in the situation right now. I just attend ODIs. However, the other player is performing better and is ahead of the coaches. He is authentically, organically, and naturally establishing his own vibe or surroundings, according to him.

Dhawan’s bat didn’t run out of runs altogether. He was in the 1950s and 1970s, but the huge sums had ceased to come in. The southpaw realized that his career was over for good when he saw Ishan Kishan hit a double century in an ODI.

I was making a lot of 50s and 70s, but I never reached 100. I thought to myself, alright boy, this may be the end of your career when Ishan Kishan hit that 200. I heard an inner voice. That’s exactly what occurred. After that, I recall that my friends came over to offer me that emotional support, you know. They assumed I would be really depressed. However, I was at peace, having fun, and unwinding,” Dhawan said.

In response to the question of whether any of his teammates reached out to him about the snub, the former India batsman stated that he did speak with the then-head coach Rahul Dravid.

“No, that’s not how it works. It could be that I talked with Rahul (Dravid) Bhai. He sent me a message. It’s quite common for individuals to be traveling, working, or on tours since everyone has their own path. This is not the first time I have been dropped or let in, as we are accustomed to it from the age of under 14, he continued.