Rohit Sharma hails “The Ultimate Jatt” Shikhar Dhawan following retirement

New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed his long-time opening partner Shikhar Dhawan following his international and domestic cricket retirement, calling him “The Ultimate Jatt”.

Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket on Saturday after an illustrious career that saw him flourish as a dependable and swashbuckling opener across all formats, most notably ODIs and during multi-nation 50-over tournaments.

Taking to X, Rohit shared a series of pictures with Shikhar, showing their rock-solid bond on and off the field. The ‘Hitman’ in his caption reflected on the times spent “sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field” and how having the left-hander by his side made his cricketing journey easier.

“From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT. @SDhawan25,” said the caption of Rohit’s Instagram post.

Shikhar wasted no time in replying to opening partner’s touching post, saying, “Thanks Bro.” on X.

Ranked as the eighth most successful pair in ODIs, the duo scored 5,193 ODI runs as a pair in 117 innings at an average of 45.15, with 18 century partnerships and 15 half-century stands. Their best partnership was of 210 runs.

Reflecting their all-format dominance as a duo, Dhawan-Rohit are ranked 16th in the all-time international cricket list, with 6,984 runs in 173 innings at an average of 40.84, with 22 century and half-century partnerships each. Their best partnership still remains of 210 runs.

As Rohit started to transition into an opening batter from 2013 onwards, it was Dhawan’s explosive starts that would often help Rohit take his time and settle. In overs 1-10, Dhawan batted with a strike rate of 82.5, as compared to Rohit’s 72.4. From overs 11-20, Rohit would up the ante with a strike rate of 89.7, as compared to Dhawan’s 88. In overs 21-30, both batted with SRs of above 100, with Dhawan (112.8) scoring faster than Rohit (106.8). In 31-40 overs, both would accelarate even more, scoring at SRs of 119 and 117.8 respectively.

In his illustrious career, runs effortlessly came off Dhawan’s bat. He represented India across all formats, but ODI was his forte. In 167 appearances, the southpaw produced swashbuckling performances and racked up 6,793 runs at an average of 44.1, including 17 centuries and 39 fifties.

In the longest format of cricket, where he stitched up memorable partnerships with Murali Vijay, Dhawan garnered 2,315 runs in 34 matches at an average of 40.6. His Test career was laced with seven tons and five half-centuries.

In the T20I format, Dhawan made 68 appearances and scored 1,759 runs at an average of 27.9, including 11 fifties.

In the domestic circuit, Dhawan played 122 first-class cricket matches and handsomely scored 8,499 runs at an average of 44.26, including 25 centuries and 29 fifties.

In List A, Dhawan played 302 matches and scored a whopping 12,074 runs at an average of 43.90. His remarkable statistics are further glistened by 30 centuries and 67 half-centuries.

Dhawan is also the second-highest run-getter of all time in the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 6,769 runs in 222 matches at an average of 35.25, with two centuries and 51 fifties.

He also secured an ICC Champions Trophy with India in 2013 and an IPL title with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2016.