NEW DELHI: With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Tests in last seven days, former India left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan paid a tribute to the duo, saying that he was proud to have shared the field with two of the finest players in the longer format.
“Pitch par sirf shots nahi, yaariyaan bhi banti hain. Proud to have shared the field with two of the finest, @rohitsharma45 and @virat.kohli. Thank you for the memories, the laughs, and the moments that created history. Test cricket will miss you, ” wrote Dhawan, who played Tests for India from 2013 to 2018, on his Instagram account on Wednesday.
Rohit ended his Test cricket career with 4, 301 runs coming from 67 matches at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties. The right-handed opener also led India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing nine games.
On the other hand, Kohli amassed 9230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, including hitting 30 centuries and 31 fifties. Apart from being India’s fourth-highest run-getter in Tests, Kohli also India in 68 Tests – winning 40 matches, which made him the country’s most successful Test captain. Under Kohli, India also won a Test series in Australia for the first time in 2018-19.
Dhawan, meanwhile, announced retirement from all forms of cricket in August last year, putting end to his glittery cricket career that saw him scoring 24 hundreds (17 in ODls and seven in Tests) across 269 international matches.
The retirements of Rohit and Kohli, along with Ravichandran Ashwin quitting the format last year, means India are entering a new era in Tests when they face England in a five-match Test series, starting on June 20 at Headingley.
Right-handed batter Shubman Gill has been widely seen as a front-runner to lead a new-look Indian Test team in England, with the visitors’ also scheduled to play matches in Edgbaston (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Old Trafford (July 23-27) and The Oval (July 31 to August 4).