Shikhar Dhawan sparks retirement rumors after an injury-prone IPL 2024
Punjab Kings had a miserable outing in IPL 2024. Finishing ninth in the final standings, PBKS struggled to to get going throughout the tournament. Their playoff hopes were dashed with a 60-run defeat at the hands of RCB in Dharamsala. PBKS were unable to reverse their fortunes after losing their captain, Shikhar Dhawan, to injury during the league stage of the cash-rich tournament.
On April 9, opener Dhawan injured his shoulder while facing Sunrisers Hyderabad. England all-rounder Sam Curran took over as the team’s captain in place of Dhawan, leading the Punjab-based team. For the entire season of IPL 2024, Curran and Jitesh Sharma led the team without Dhawan. Veteran Indian opener Dhawan only made five appearances for the Punjab Kings in the 2024 season, capping a lackluster year.
Dhawan discussed retirement talks and gave thoughts on his IPL journey in an interview with ANI. The veteran batter acknowledged that he was going through a change in his game.
“Currently, I’m in a transition phase in my life, as my cricket career is coming to an end and a new chapter will set to begin. As an athlete, you can only play for a limited period of time – it could be one more year, two more years, or some other timeframe for me,” Dhawan stated.
After an outstanding campaign with Delhi Capitals (DC), Dhawan joined Punjab Kings. The Punjab Kings signed the former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) player for INR 8.25 crore at the IPL 2022 auction. The seasoned player finished the 2022 season with the most runs scored by a PBKS batter with 460.
But in the 2023 season, Dhawan’s form declined as the PBKS opener scored 373 runs in 11 games. “I suffered an injury during this IPL season, which limited my playing time for Punjab to only 4-5 matches. Recovery from such injuries takes time, and I am still in the healing process. I have not yet fully recovered to 100% fitness,” he continued.
In IPL history, the southpaw is the second-highest run scorer. Dhawan has played in 222 IPL games and scored 6,769 runs.
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