‘The Ultimate Jatt’: Rohit Sharma hails long-time opening partner Shikhar Dhawan

India Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma hailed his long-time opening partner Shikhar Dhawan after the latter’s retirement announcement on Saturday.

Sharing images from their Team India and junior cricket days on social media on Sunday, Rohit wrote: “From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT.”

Rohit and Dhawan featured together in 195 matches for India across formats, accumulating over 14,000 runs. However, the duo were at their best in the ODI, forging one of the best moder-day partnerships in the format. Dhawan and Rohit piled on 5193 runs in 117 ODIs together – the fourth-highest opening partnership. They recorded 18 century stands – the second-best among all ODI opening pairs behind Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar’s 21.

From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT. @SDhawan25 pic.twitter.com/ROFwAHgpuo

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) August 25, 2024

Rohit and Dhawan were first paired together at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England, forming a crucial role in India’s run to the title.

The India captain had also recently admitted that he was a fan of Dhawan during their junior cricket days. Dhawan, two years Rohit’s senior, broke several batting records during the 2004 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. Dhawan topped the batting charts with 505 runs and was adjudged the Player of the Series.

“I was a fan of him during the Under 19 days. He was the man of the series in the World Cup in Bangladesh. That was the first time I was watching him and there was something special about him when I watched him on the television. He had built such a name in the circuit. The first time I saw him at the NCA, I just kept looking at him. He was differet and he indeed proved it over the years,” Rohit had told journalist Vimal Kumar in an interview.

Rohit and Dhawan last featured together for India in an ODI against Bangladesh in late 2022.

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