Kanpur, Read. Leg spinner Karn Sharma, who has played in all three formats for the Indian cricket team, has announced his retirement from international and Indian domestic cricket at the age of 38. This experienced Railways cricketer informed about his decision after the UP T20 League match between Kanpur Superstars and Meerut Mavericks on Saturday night. Karn Sharma will play his last match for Kanpur Superstars in the Lucknow leg on August 25. After this he will be available for coaching and other cricket related responsibilities.
Played in all three formats for India
Karan Sharma's international career may not have been very long, but his beginning was very special. He played one Test, two ODIs and one T20 International for India in the year 2014. After his brilliant performance in the 2014 IPL season, he got a chance in the Indian team. In that season he took 15 wickets at an economy of 7.42. After this, he made his debut in T20 International cricket in Birmingham and got the wicket of Joe Root. After this he made his ODI debut in Kolkata. This was the same match in which Rohit Sharma played a record-breaking inning of 264 runs.
Made test debut under the captaincy of Virat Kohli
Karn Sharma then made his Test debut in the Adelaide Test against Australia. This match was also Virat Kohli's first test as Test captain. Kohli had included Karn in the team in place of Ravichandran Ashwin. Karn took four wickets in his Test debut. However, after this he did not get a chance to play for India again.
Domestic career lasted almost two decades
Despite his early exit from international cricket, Karn Sharma's domestic cricket career lasted for almost two decades. He made his first-class cricket debut for Railways in 2007. After this he also played for Andhra and Vidarbha and later returned to Railways. He took a total of 270 wickets in 97 first-class matches. Even in batting, he has 2,866 runs in his name, which includes two centuries. He scored one of these centuries in his debut match against Jammu and Kashmir in Ranji Trophy.
Became champion four times in IPL
Karn Sharma was also active in IPL for a long time and became a part of the champion team four times. He won three consecutive IPL titles between 2016 and 2018. During this period, he became champion with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings respectively. His IPL career witnessed his consistency and useful performances in big matches in Indian cricket.
Said- Gratitude to the family and cricket institutions
Announcing his retirement, Karan Sharma along with his family expressed his gratitude to all the people including BCCI, Railways, UPCA, Andhra and Vidarbha Cricket Association who supported his cricket journey. He said that now he will not be completely away from cricket and will be available for coaching and other cricket related responsibilities.
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