Indian Women fast bowler Niranjana Nagarajan has announced her retirement from all forms of cricket through a social media post.
Niranjana Nagarajan Retires from all Forms of Cricket
The 35-year-old Niranjana has played two tests, 22 ODIs and 14 T20Is between 2008 and 2016. She made her India debut as a 19-year-old during an ODI match against England in Bath. She announced her retirement with a heartfelt farewell message on Instagram, expressing her gratitude.
View this post on Instagram
She made her debut in all three formats against England. During the year 2012, she made her T20I debut in Canterbury, while her Test debut was in the year 2014 in Wormsley.
She picked four wickets in her Two tests, 24 wickets in 22 ODIs, and nine wickets in 14 T20Is. Niranjana was a key player on her debut where she picked four wickets in the very first innings as England was bowled out for 92.
“Playing cricket at a professional level has been the best thing that could have happened to me for everything in life commenced with it,” she said.
“Playing this game gave me a vision, ambition, and reason to look forward in life. I am grateful, blessed, and thankful to have played this sport for 24 years at a professional level and when I look back at it, the journey has been nothing less than beautiful and I will be carrying the lovely warm memories it gave me along the way through my life.”
She played for Tamil Nadu in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy 2021-22 where she scored 197 runs, including a high score of 80, and took 8 wickets in 5 wickets, with best figures of 6 for 37 against Uttarakhand women in her final match.
Niranjana expressed her gratitude by saying, “I would like to thank my late grandmother, for she was the reason I started playing cricket. I thank my parents who have guided and protected me up to this point in life. Without my parents, I would not have been able to realize my dreams of playing for India. I am grateful to my husband, Mr. Srinath, who has been a pillar of support to me.”
She thanked her coach Satish Sadagoppan, former Indian captain Shantha Rangaswamy, and former cricketer Sudha Shah for their support and guidance.
She concluded by saying, “I would like to thank Mr. Satish Sadagoppan, my coach and mentor from my early days and my constant well-wisher. I am thankful to former international and veteran cricketer Shantha Rangaswamy.”
She mentioned, “I extend my gratitude to Mr. RI Palani, Honorary Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, and Mr. Kasi Vishwanathan, CEO of Chennai Super Kings, for the valuable support and understanding I received as a player,” she concluded.
