Shikhar Dhawan made 497 runs in IPL 2018 with four fifties and a strike rate of 136.91.
Former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has talked about his frustration at being paid INR 5.20 crores by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2018 mega auction. He revealed that he deserved at least INR 10-12 crores, given that he was at the peak of his batting career then.
After making his first appearance in the Indian Premier League for the first time in its history in 2008, he went on to play 222 matches till the time he retired in 2024. Over the course of his career, Dhawan made 6769 runs at a strike rate of 127.14 with 2 centuries and 51 fifties, with 768 fours and 152 sixes.
Dhawan expressed his extreme disappointment when SRH acquired him back for Rs 5.2 crore at the IPL 2018 mega auction in an interview with Indian Express Hindi. He had made Rs 12.5 crore with the team in the 2017 season before going into the auction pool.
SRH used its Right to Match (RTM) card to bring Dhawan back at a far lesser price when his name appeared early in the 2018 mega auction. The batter, who was born in Delhi, was devastated by the move since he believed his value and performances justified a far greater premium.
"I was at the peak of my career at that time, and I felt I deserved at least Rs 10-12 crore. I was regularly playing for India and delivering match-winning performances. However, my name came up first in the auction, and I was sold for just Rs 5.2 crore. It took me some time to come to terms with that figure.
SRH's then head coach, VVS Laxman, came to me and asked if something was bothering me. I told him I wasn't happy with what had happened, and we had a long conversation about it. Later, I played that season for SRH, and we reached the final. I scored more than 500 runs and was probably the team's highest run-scorer," Dhawan said on the Indian Express Hindi podcast.
Dhawan also acknowledged that there are some things he would like to do differently if given the chance. He emphasized, nonetheless, that he had no regrets about the choices he took throughout his career.
"I don't regret it, though. Today, I would handle the situation differently because my understanding has grown, but I don't regret my past decisions," he said.
Shikhar Dhawan played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is for India, scoring 2315, 6793, and 1759 runs, respectively, with a total of 24 centuries to his name. He made his India Test debut in 2013 against Australia, scoring 187 runs, which remains a record for the highest score by an Indian in his debut Test.
Dhawan was the first man to hit back-to-back centuries in the IPL and has the second-highest number of fours in IPL-768.