Cricket
oi-Ashish Rana
India’s leading leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has hanged up his boots for his first-class cricket career marking a closing chapter for his red-ball cricket. Chahal announced his Test cricket retirement on Friday and said he will now only focus on white ball cricket and still look for opportunity to represent India.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal retired from first-class cricket, ending his red-ball career with 148 wickets in 49 matches, including his final game at Lord’s. He will continue limited-overs cricket and aims to represent India in ODIs and T20Is.
Chahal’s Red-Ball Career Ends At Lord’s
Chahal played 49 first-class matches during his career and picked up 148 wickets at an average of 32.27. His best bowling performance was 6/25.
The leg-spinner’s final first-class match came while playing for Northamptonshire against Middlesex at Lord’s Cricket Ground. He finished the game with two wickets.
Chahal had been playing county cricket in England during the 2026-27 season. He featured in five County Championship matches for Northamptonshire and claimed 21 wickets. His most impressive performance came against Durham, when he took nine wickets, including five in the first innings.
Test Dream Remained Unfulfilled
Despite being successful in white ball cricket, Yuzvendra Chahal never got a a chance to play Test cricket for India. He said the red ball had a special place in his career and said his retirement is an emotional moment for him.
“The first cricket ball I ever held was a red ball. I was 10 years old, and I had no idea then how deeply I would fall in love with this game. For me, red-ball cricket was never just another format. It was where I learned the meaning of patience, character, resilience and the pure joy of being out there for hours, fighting for every run and every wicket,” Chahal wrote on Instagram.
Reflecting on his final game, he added, “I played my last First-Class match at Lords, saying these words is emotional as a Test cap was always a dream, one that I carried with me for many years. It may not have happened, but I am genuinely content with the journey I have had and incredibly grateful for every opportunity that came my way in this format.”
Chahal Wants India Return
This retirement announcement doesn’t end his career internationally as he has made it clear that he will continue playing limited-overs cricket and he also hope to make comeback to India’s ODI and T20I squads.
“But I AM NOT DONE YET. The hunger to play for my country is still very much alive. I believe I have the cricket left in me, and I will give everything I have to earn another opportunity in the One-Day and T20 formats,” he said.
Chahal has represented India in 72 ODIs and 80 T20Is, taking 217 wickets across the two formats. His last T20I appearance came against the West Indies in August 2023, while his final ODI was against New Zealand in Indore in January 2023.
He has continued to feature in the Indian Premier League and has been a consistent performer for Punjab Kings. Chahal concluded his retirement message by looking back at his journey, saying, “From a 10-year-old holding his first red ball to playing his final First-Class game, it has been one hell of a journey.”
