Rishi Dhawan is a right-arm medium-pacer from Himachal Pradesh, and has been a consistent performer in Indian domestic cricket for over a decade. His journey began in the 2008-09 season when he made his first-class debut for Himachal Pradesh against Tripura. Dhawan's initial years in domestic cricket were marked by steady performances.  In the 2010-11 season, he played a crucial role in Himachal Pradesh's Ranji Trophy campaign, taking 33 wickets and scoring 341 runs. He has played for Kings XI Punjab in the 2008 IPL. He was signed up by the Mumbai Indians in 2013. In February 2017, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the 2017 Indian Premier League.

Dhawan's breakthrough season came in 2012-13 when he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy with 49 wickets at an impressive average of 20.93. His performances earned him a call-up to the India A team for their tour of the West Indies in 2013.

Dhawan's performances in the IPL and domestic cricket earned him a long-awaited call-up to the Indian national team. He made his international debut in a T20I against Australia in 2016 at the age of 26.

Dhawan's international career has been sporadic, with appearances spread across different formats.

He has represented India in 7 ODIs, 3 T20Is, and a solitary Test match against Afghanistan in 2018.

While his international performances have been decent, he has struggled to cement a permanent place in the Indian team due to stiff competition from other pacers.

In the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season, Dhawan once again finished as the highest wicket-taker, taking 54 wickets at an average of 20.37.

Dhawan's performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have also been noteworthy. He played a crucial role for the Punjab Kings in the 2022 season, taking 16 wickets in 14 matches and contributing with the bat.

He also appeared in the P. Sen Trophy playing with Bhawanipore Club in 2022.

In first-class cricket, Rishi Dhawan has taken 349 wickets from 110 matches at an average of 26.06, with best bowling figures of 7/51. In List A cricket, he has 157 wickets from 124 matches at an economy rate of 5.27. Dhawan has also played 62 T20 games, picking up 57 wickets with an economy of 7.58.