Shikhar Dhawan revealed how Ishan Kishan’s 200 marked the end of his India’s career

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has candidly opened up about the moment he realised his ODI career might be over, and it had everything to do with Ishan Kishan’s explosive double hundred against Bangladesh in 2022. Shubman Gill’s rise as an all-format opener also played a massive part.

For a batter who had been a pillar of India’s white-ball setup for nearly a decade, the end came not with poor form but with the arrival of younger, hungrier competition. But as he is, a larger-than-life character, Dhawan never really took it to heart and gelled his way post-retirement.

‘Ishan Kishan’s 200 & my career was over’

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Dhawan said his instincts kicked in the day Kishan smashed a 210 in Chattogram — the youngest player at the time to score a double century in ODIs. While Kishan was himself not a first-choice opener, his double hundred pushed Dhawan even further back in the pecking order. The Delhi-born’s age wasn’t on his side as well.

“I was scoring lots of 50s, I didn’t score a 100 but I scored lots of 70s. When Ishan Kishan scored that 200, my instinct told me, alright boy, this can be the end of your career. An inner voice came to me. And that’s what happened,” said Dhawan. “Then I remember my friends came over to you know, give me that emotional support. They thought that I would be very down. But I was chilling, I was enjoying.”

Interestingly, Dhawan was also playing that game and he made just three runs off eight balls before being dismissed by current Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz. It proved to be Dhawan’s last one-day international appearance.