Star Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan recently announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket. 38-year-old KS Dhawan played his first match for India against Bangladesh in December 2022. After that he could not return to Team India. With his retirement from international cricket, Dhawan has now joined the list of those Indian cricketers who did not get a farewell match.
A cricketer has to practice and struggle hard to make a place in the national team. In such a situation, he wishes to play his last match for the country in front of the fans and take a memorable farewell. There are no specific standards for a player’s farewell from international cricket. But still, fans also dream of watching their favorite player play on the field for the last time and giving him a grand farewell. Like Dhawan, there have been many Indian cricketers who scored thousands of runs in international cricket, but did not get a farewell match. Let’s know about six such legends…
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The list also includes the name of ‘Captain Cool’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is considered one of the best captains of India. Dhoni led India to three ICC titles under his captaincy. He retired from Test cricket in December 2014. But he remained a part of the Indian cricket team in ODIs and T20s.
He played his last international match during the World Cup 2019. Then on 15 August 2020, Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket through a social media post. Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 17266 runs in 350 ODIs, 98 T20 Internationals and 90 Test matches. During this, he scored 108 half-centuries and 16 centuries. Dhoni is the most successful Indian wicketkeeper. He took 294 catches in Tests, 444 in ODIs and 91 in T20s.
2. Virender Sehwag: Everyone was a fan of the explosive style of this opening batsman of Team India. Sehwag was unmatched in spoiling the length and line of the opposition bowlers. Sehwag is the only Indian batsman to score two triple centuries in Test matches. Despite this, he did not get a farewell match. He played his last international match against Australia in 2013. On the occasion of his birthday in 2015, Sehwag said goodbye to international cricket. Virender Sehwag played 104 Test matches and 251 ODI matches in international cricket. In Test cricket, he scored 8586 runs with the help of 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries. Sehwag has 8273 runs in ODI International, which includes 15 centuries and 38 half-centuries.
3. Yuvraj Singh: Yuvi has been one of the best all-rounders of Indian cricket. Yuvraj was an important part of India’s two World Champion teams (World T20 in 2007 and World Cup in 2011). This left-handed batsman played brilliantly in both the tournaments and contributed significantly to the title victory. Yuvraj Singh played 304 ODIs, in which he scored 8701 runs. Yuvraj has a total of 14 centuries and 52 half-centuries in ODI International.
Yuvraj scored a total of 1900 runs in 40 Test matches, which included 3 centuries and 11 half-centuries. Yuvraj scored 1177 runs in 58 T20 Internationals, which included eight half-centuries. Yuvraj took 9 wickets in Tests, 111 in ODIs and 28 wickets in T20 Internationals. In 2017, Yuvraj played his last international match which was a T20 match against England. After this, he did not get a chance to play for India for the next two years. Finally, in June 2019, Yuvraj announced his retirement from international cricket.
4. Rahul Dravid: Under the coaching of Rahul Dravid, the Indian team recently won the T20 World Cup 2024 title. As a player, Dravid had performed very well for India in international cricket, but he did not get a farewell match. After a poor performance on the Australia tour, Dravid said goodbye to international cricket in March 2012.
Dravid, famously known as ‘The Wall’, scored 13,288 runs in 164 Test matches, which included 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries. During this, his highest score was 270. Dravid scored 10,889 runs in 344 ODI matches, which included 12 centuries and 83 half-centuries. 153 runs was Dravid’s highest score in ODI. Dravid also played a T20 match for India, in which he scored 31 runs. Dravid captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs.
5. VVS Laxman: Stylish batsman VVS Laxman was also not able to play his farewell match. Laxman surprised everyone by retiring just before the home series against New Zealand in 2012, even though his name was included in the team. It was believed that Laxman was deeply hurt by the attitude of the board, captain and selectors.
Laxman scored 8781 runs in 134 Tests at an average of 45.97. He also scored 17 centuries and 56 half-centuries. This right-handed batsman also played 86 ODIs in which he scored 2338 runs at an average of 30.76. Laxman strengthened the Indian middle order along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. His highest score is 281 runs which he made against Australia in 2001 at Eden Gardens. The Indian team registered a historic victory due to his memorable innings.
6. Gautam Gambhir: Gautam Gambhir, the current head coach of Team India, retired from international cricket on 4 December 2018. Gambhir played his last Test for India against England in Rajkot in 2016. But after that he did not get a chance. Gambhir scored 4154 runs in 58 Test matches at an average of 41.95, which includes nine centuries.
Gambhir scored 5238 runs in 147 ODIs at an average of 39.68. This includes a memorable innings of 97 runs in the 2011 World Cup final, due to which India won the World Cup for the second time. He played 11 century innings in ODIs. Gambhir also left his mark in T20 International matches. He scored 932 runs in 37 matches with the help of seven half-centuries, in which his average was 27.41.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)