As the veteran Indian opener, Shikhar Dhawan grew a year older on Thursday, the Board of Control For Cricket in Indian (BCCI) led wishes for the stylish southpaw on his 34th birthday. Dhawan, born on this day in 1985, completed his schooling from St. Mark’s Senior Secondary Public School in Meera Bagh, New Delhi. He began cricket training at the age of 12 years.

Dhawan, who made his international debut in 2010, has been playing a crucial role for the Indian team in the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments. The BCCI tweeted: “Wishing the ever smiling and entertaining @SDhawan25 a very Happy Birthday#TeamIndia #HappyBirthdayShikhar”.

Wishing the ever smiling and entertaining @SDhawan25 a very Happy Birthday 😁😁🎂🎂 #TeamIndia #HappyBirthdayShikhar pic.twitter.com/A7y3igWoSy

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2019

In their tweet, ICC wrote: “34 Tests, 133 ODIs, 58 T20Is, 9,337 international runs. The stylish India opener was the highest run-getter at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, playing a vital role in guiding his side win the title. Happy Birthday to Shikhar Dhawan”.

💥 34 Tests, 133 ODIs, 58 T20Is
💥 9,337 international runs

The stylish India opener was the highest run-getter at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, playing a vital role in guiding his side win the title. Happy Birthday to Shikhar Dhawan 🎉 pic.twitter.com/mSLlVKXBaq

— ICC (@ICC) December 5, 2019

“Happy birthday mera jatta, have a blast and keep smiling always,” Hardik Pandya tweeted along with a picture with Shikhar Dhawan from the World Cup 2019.

Happy birthday mera jatta 🤗 have a blast and keep smiling always 👌 @SDhawan25 pic.twitter.com/cT01pvPolV

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) December 5, 2019

On the other hand, along with a video of them doing the Bhangra, Dhawan’s Delhi team-mater Ishant Sharma tweeted: “Happy Birthday Jatt Ji!! Wishing you all the happiness. May god bless you with whatever you wish for. Keep shining champ! @SDhawan25”.

Happy Birthday Jatt Ji!! 🔥
Wishing you all the happiness. May god bless you with whatever you wish for. Keep shining champ! 🎂 🎈 @SDhawan25 pic.twitter.com/u8uqx6Ic9z

— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) December 5, 2019

Here are some more wishes on his birthday:

Happy birthday Shikhar bro @SDhawan25, have a great one 🤗 pic.twitter.com/4wiNh6sHFR

— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) December 5, 2019

Wish u a very happy birthday Shikhar, have a good one 🤗 see you soon @SDhawan25

— IamKedar (@JadhavKedar) December 5, 2019

Dhawan will be next seen in action during the limited-overs series against the West Indies, which is scheduled to commence on Friday. India will host the West Indies for three-match Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and as many One-Day Internationals (ODIs), which concludes on December 22 in Cuttack.

Shikhar has scored 2315 Test runs, 5518 runs in ODIs and 1504 runs in the shortest format of the game. He holds an average of 44.50 in the ODIs and has proved to be crucial for India as an opener.