Former India batsman Shikhar Dhawan announced his engagement to girlfriend Sophie Shine on Instagram. Dhawan and Shine had made their relationship official on the social media platform on May 1 last year. The 40-year-old, who had retired from international and domestic cricket in August 2024, had previously been married to Australia-based Ayesha Mukherjee between 2012 and 2023.
Dhawan and Shine posted a photo of them holding hands with the caption: “From shared smiles to shared dreams. Grateful for the love, the blessings and every good wish for our engagement as we choose togetherness forever.” Hailing from Ireland, Shine is a prominent personality on social media with about 347,000 followers on Instagram.
Considered one of the best limited overs openers of his generation, Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket on August 24, 2024. He played 167 ODIs, scoring 6793 runs at an average of 44.11 with 17 centuries and 39 half-centuries. Dhawan is also among the most prolific Indian batters of all time in T20Is, scoring 1759 runs in 68 matches iwth 11 half-centuries at a strike rate of 126.36.
He also played 34 Tests in which he scored 2315 runs at an average of 40.61 with seven centuries and five half-centuries. He scored a 174-ball 187 in his debut Test innings against Australia in Mohali in March 2013. Dhawan broke the record for the fastest century on Test debut, having got to the mark in just 85 balls.
Dhawan was player of the tournament as India won the 2013 Champions Trophy, the campaign in which he established himself as one of the most prominent openers in ODI cricket. He captained India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is between 2021 and 2022. Dhawan was one half of a glorious opening partnership with Rohit Sharma. The pair put up 5148 runs in 115 ODIs between themselves at 45.55. They shared 18 century stands which is second only to Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly’s 21. Overall, India’s ODI top three combination of Dhawan, Rohit and Virat Kohli was among the most prolific in the world for over a decade.
