Dhawan revealed he took the step because he developed strong feelings for her. The southpaw also shed light on Rohit Sharma's reaction when he brought his girl to the room.
"My plan to meet up with this Englishwoman started taking shape, and we started partying regularly during that tour. She was very beautiful, and suddenly I was in love again! I thought to myself, 'She is the one for me, and I am going to marry her," Dhawan wrote in his autobiography as quoted by Sportstar.
"After every game, I would go over to meet up with Ellen, and I soon started smuggling her into my hotel room, which I was sharing with Rohit Sharma. Now and then, he would complain in Hindi. 'Will you let me sleep?' it added.
Dhawan revealed that the news of him having a girlfriend spread like wildfire in Australia, and even a national selector spotted him roaming around with the girl in the hotel lobby. Dhawan said he was in love with the girl and felt nothing wrong about it.
"One evening, when I headed for dinner with Ellen, news of her presence spread like wildfire throughout the entire squad. A senior national selector, who was on tour with us, spotted us walking in the lobby with our hands linked. It didn't even occur to me that I should let go of her hand, because to me, we were committing no crime," he added.
Shikhar Dhawan - One Of The Greats Of Indian Cricket
Dhawan ended his international career as one of the greats of the game. He played 167 ODIs, 68 T20Is, and 34 Tests for India, but his best performance came in the 50-over format, where he scored 6793 runs at an average of 44. Dhawan last played for India against Bangladesh in December 2022. Despite his tremendous record in ICC events, he wasn't picked in the ODI World Cup 2023 squad. He announced his retirement from all formats of the game in 2024.