Will brands bat for Shikhar Dhawan post-retirement?

BY Team PITCH

Called ‘rustically handsome’, ‘well-admired’, and the ‘charm creator’ by N.Chandramouli, the CEO of TRA Research, Shikhar Dhawan has been in the headlines recently. As the famous Indian southpaw cricketer, Shikhar Dhawan, lovingly called ‘Gabbar’, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Saturday, 24 August. The 38-year-old, left-handed batsman posted a video on social media to announce the development.

Shikhar Dhawan started his career in October 2010 in an ODI match against Australia and then played his first test match in 2013 in Mohali, where he became the first test debut batsman to score the fastest century in just 85 balls. His international career spanned over 12 years with him featuring in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is, scoring 10,867 runs.

In the video posted on his Instagram and X, Dhawan said, "I am standing at that juncture of my life where I can see both my past memories and my whole life ahead. My dream was always to play for India and it came true and for that, I'm grateful to a lot of people. My family, my coaches Tarak Sinha and Madan Sharma, under whom I learnt to play cricket. Also my team, the people I played with for years. I got another family in them. I got fame and fortune and the love of everyone.

"But it's important to turn the page to move forward in life and that's why I am announcing my retirement from international and domestic cricket.

"And now that I'm concluding my cricket journey, there's peace in my heart, that I played a lot for my country. I'm grateful to all my fans for all the love. I've told myself, don't feel sad that you won't play for India anymore, but feel happy that you played for the country."

Shikhar Dhawan has played in all formats for years but his performances in ICC ODI tournaments earned him the nickname ‘Mr ICC’, which will be the most cherished. The batsman was the top run-getter of the tournament during India's 2013 ICC Champions Trophy campaign. Dhawan played his last match for India in an ODI series against Bangladesh in 2022.

Talking about his career outside the field, Shikhar has been regarded as a tier 3 or even tier 4 star player. While not as popular as Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni, he was still a popular choice for various brands, according to the founder and managing partner of Alchemist Brand Consulting, Samit Sinha.

But that popularity has somewhat waned and there have been three core reasons for it, says Sinha. "The first is him being off the limelight in the past few years; second, he has no residual brand value like Tendulkar and third, there is a big pool of players including the IPL debutant stars that have taken shares in the limelight.”

“Dhawan's net worth, estimated by the media, is $15 million, or Rs 125 crores, which is more than enough for him to lead a comfortable life if he chooses to not be a face in the media”, said Chandramouli. He has been the ambassador for numerous companies, including Svish, TagZ Foods, Eurosport MotoGP, and he has invested in Que, an eyewear company. He opened a home décor brand with his ex-wife Ayesha called 'DaONE Home’ as well.

Furthermore,  he made his hosting debut with the new talk show "Dhawan Karenge" on JioCinema. "Dhawan Karenge" featured fun games and celebs like  Taapsee Pannu, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvan Bam, Rishabh Pant, and Akshay Kumar. One Digital Entertainment developed and curated the show.

He was featured in a lot of advertisements including Eurosport India, Dream11, MyTeam11, Flipkart, Svish, boAt, Nerolac, Kurkure, Lays, Airtel, Reliance, Symphony, and many more. His sharp social media presence, strong perseverance, and humour have made him the perfect fit for many brands.

In a conversation with brand expert Lloyd Mathias, he spoke about the face value that Dhawan brings to the brands, He said, “Shikhar is known for his aggressive, bold and flamboyant personality on the field that the brands also incorporate when making him the face of their campaigns.” plus his connection and engagement with the audience awards him a thousand Aura points.

Dhawan has seen his share of ups and downs with regards to both his game and his personal life, but his attitude, will and sheer determination has made him the star player he is. “But when a star player retires, it is seen that their charm dies very rapidly in the case of athletes and if Dhawan doesn't choose a path that keeps him relevant in the media, he will face the same fate too. Barring Dhoni most brands have lost interest in retired players. So to stay relevant players like Sunil Gavaskar and Akash Chawla turned to commentary, Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid became coaches to the Indian Cricket team, which led them to their current popularity” added Mathias.

“The shelf life of a cricketer or sports person is already small as compared to stars and their charm while they are on the field is always higher and different from their value post retiring. If Dhawan wants to be at the top of his game and continue to be a popular choice for brands, he might have to do more than playing for leagues cricket, as he plans to do currently. He has to create, innovate and be better in adapting a style that is relevant to the current times”, said Chandramouli.

Going forward the fate of Shikhar Dhawan’s brand value entirely depends on his performance. If he's scintillating, he will hold audience attention and may become the ‘Gabbar’ for brands too.

Tags : Samit Sinha Cricket Shikhar Dhawan Shikhar Dhawan Retirement N Chandramouli