'Never got the plaudits he deserved': Gautam Gambhir, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya react to Shikhar Dhawan's retirement

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Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket on Saturday (August 24) morning, bringing end to a stellar cricket career of 20 years including 14 in international cricket.

The 38-year-old made his international debut in October 2010, and played 34 Tests, 167 ODI and 68 T20Is for India. He scored 2315 runs in Test cricket at an average of 40.61, 6793 runs in ODIs at an average of 44.11, and 1759 runs in T20I cricket at an average of 27.92. Shikhar Dhawan hit seven hundreds in Tests and 17 in ODI format.

Dhawan also represented Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI), Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in his IPL career, which saw him play 222 matches. He is currently the second-highest run-scorer in IPL behind Virat Kohli. He has scored 6768 runs in 221 innings at an average of 35.07 and a strike rate of 127.12.

"It's important to turn the page to move forward in life and that's why I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket. I am leaving with peace in my heart that I played so long for India. I've told myself don't feel sad that you won't play for India anymore, but feel happy that you played for the country," he said in his video post.

Teammates, cricket fraternity and fans react as Shikhar Dhawan announces retirement

After Shikhar Dhawan made the big announcement, congratulatory messages started flowing in for the superstar cricketer. The likes of Gautam Gambhir, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Wasim Jaffer, and Saeed Anwar were the first ones to react. Punjab Kings and other IPL teams also saluted Dhawan for his glorious run.

The southpaw batter made a name for himself with his aggressive batting, and the knack of delivering in ICC events. He was India's highest run-scorer in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 which India won by beating England. He emerged as the leading run-scorer for India in 2015 World Cup, and scored the most runs in ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The Delhi-born batter was also the leading run-scorer in Asia Cup 2018.

Further, the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan became one of the most successful for India. They scored 5148 runs together in 115 innings at an average of 45.55. Only three more opening pairs in ODI cricket history have scored more runs together.