42-year-old Indian cricket veteran Amit Mishra has finally called time on his professional cricket career after 25 years of service to the sport.The leg-spinner’s international career included 22 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is, where he claimed 76, 64, and 16 wickets respectively. He announced his retirement on Thursday, citing recurring injuries and his desire to create opportunities for upcoming cricketers.
“These 25 years of my life in cricket have been nothing short of memorable. I am deeply grateful to the BCCI, the administration, Haryana cricket association, the support staff, my colleagues, and to my family members who were with me all this while,” Mishra said, as quoted by IANS. “I would like to thank the fans whose love and support whenever and wherever I played made the journey memorable. Cricket has given me countless memories and invaluable learnings, and each moment on the ground has been a memory I’ll treasure for life.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Mishra’s international journey began in 2003 during an ODI tri-series in Bangladesh. His Test debut came in 2008 against Australia in Mohali, where he secured a five-wicket haul.In 2013, he matched Javagal Srinath’s world record by taking 18 wickets in a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. He also participated in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, taking 10 wickets as India finished second.After his last international appearance in 2017, Mishra continued playing domestic cricket and IPL. His final match was for Lucknow Super Giants against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024.He concludes his IPL career as the seventh-highest wicket-taker with 174 wickets in 162 matches, maintaining an average of 23.82 and economy rate of 7.37. He remains the only bowler to achieve three hat-tricks in IPL history.His IPL hat-tricks were accomplished while playing for different teams: Delhi Daredevils in 2008, Kings XI Punjab in 2011, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013.Mishra plans to stay connected with cricket through coaching, commentary, and mentoring young players. He will also engage with fans through social media and YouTube.