"Went with a local manager and got 28 stitches" - Shikhar Dhawan opens up on painful moments that made him strong

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan opened up on painful moments in his life that made him strong. Dhawan recently made an appearance on Raj Shamani's podcast.

The southpaw revealed that he had once suffered a concussion during a game and had gotten 28 stitches. He was taken to the hospital with a local manager. Shikhar Dhawan stated that it was a painful moment as he did not have his family by his side. His family was not aware of his injury and did not even ask him about the same.

The opener reflected that having gone through such moments all by himself made him a strong person.

"I suffered a concussion in one match but there was no one to ask. If there is some relation people do ask. But no one did. I went with a local manager and got 28 stitches. My family did not know what was happening. That hurt me, that my family does not know anything, they are not even asking anything. I have gone through those moments alone. I have been through such situations alone. Those moments made me very strong," he said.

Dhawan was married to Ayesha Mukherjee from 2012 to 2023. However, as things did not go well, the couple decided to part ways. He was granted a divorce by a local court in Delhi in October 2023 on the grounds of 'mental cruelty'.

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Shikhar Dhawan's international career

Shikhar Dhawan made his international debut in an ODI against Australia in 2010. His T20I debut came a year later in 2011 against the West Indies. He made his Test debut against Australia in 2013.

With solid and consistent performances, Shikhar Dhawan gradually established himself as a permanent member of the side. He had a stellar career in limited-overs cricket, particularly.

Dhawan scored 6793 runs from 167 ODIs at an average of 44.11 with 17 hundreds and 39 half-centuries. In 68 T20Is, he made 1759 runs with 11 fifties. He played 34 Tests and piled on 2315 runs at an average of 40.61 with seven hundreds.

Dhawan last played international cricket in 2022. Despite scoring 688 runs from 22 ODIs in 2022, he was dropped from the side. Eventually, the 39-year-old walked away from international and domestic cricket in August 2024.