Cricket
oi-Gaurav Sharma
After playing more than 15 years of cricket, Karan Sharma is all set to retire from the sport. The 38-year-old has decided to call it a day after winning 4 IPL titles and being a part of the Indian team for a short period of time.
Karan Sharma announced his decision to retire from all forms of the game after Saturday night’s UP T20 League match between Kanpur Superstars and Meerut Mavericks. His last-ever match as a player will be the rematch between the two teams on August 25.
Karan Sharma, 38, is retiring from cricket after a 15-year career, marked by 4 IPL titles and a short stint with the Indian team in 2014 where he took 4 wickets in a Test against Australia. He aims to continue in cricket through coaching.
Karan Sharma expressed gratitude towards his family, BCCI, Railways, UPCA, Andhra and Vidarbha Cricket Association, and people who have supported him throughout his journey. However, he is not going to quit the game altogether. Sharma stated that he will explore other avenues in the world of cricket, such as coaching.
Sharma’s stint with the Indian team was short. He played only 4 matches in 2014, including one T20I, two ODIs, and one Test. In the Test match against Australia in Adelaide, Sharma took four wickets.
Before getting an opportunity to play for India, Sharma was already a renowned leg-spinner. He made his first-class debut, List-A debut, and T20 debut in the 2007-08 season. Sharma displayed his batting talent by scoring a century in his Ranji Trophy debut.
In 2012-13, he took 21 wickets in only three Ranji Trophy matches at an incredible average of 19.04. Sharma earned the BCCI Best Under-25 Cricketer title and a call-up to the Indian team.
The legendary spinner received an enormous IPL opportunity after his incredible performances in the Ranji Trophy final. Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Sharma for INR 3.75 crore at the 2014 IPL auction, making him the most expensive uncapped player at the time.
Sharma won 4 IPL trophies during his career. In 2016, he was a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s winning team, while in 2017, he celebrated the title win with Mumbai Indians. Sharma won the IPL with Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2021. He also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
During his 90-match IPL career, Sharma took 83 wickets for his teams. In his T20 career, which consisted of 191 matches, the left-arm spinner took 168 wickets. In addition, he took 270 wickets in 97 first-class matches.
Karan Sharma is all set to retire from domestic and international cricket. However, he is not going to be too far from the game as his IPL journey might continue in the near future.
