New Delhi: Vidarbha legend Faiz Fazal, who has represented his side in more than 100 red-ball matches, announced his retirement from all formats of the game.
The 38-year-old, who led Vidarbha in 53 matches, took to Instagram on February 18 to announce that he would retire from professional cricket after his team’s Ranji Trophy match against Haryana.
Fazal will retire as Vidarbha’s highest run-scorer in both List A and first-class cricket. He led Vidarbha when they won their first Ranji Trophy title in 2017-18 and defended it successfully in the following season.
Overall, he scored 9183 runs at an average of 41.36 in 137 first class cricket. He hit 24 hundreds and 39 fifties. Fazal took 23 wickets.
In List A, his tally stands at 3641 runs and 7 wickets in 113 games.
Despite being a consistent performer in domestic cricket, Fazal’s debut for the Indian national side came only in 2016, during the Zimbabwe tour. The selectors opted to send a second-string squad, and Fazal made his debut in the third ODI in Harare, scoring an unbeaten half-century in India’s 10-wicket win. However, he never played for the senior team again.
“Tomorrow marks the end of an era as I step onto the Nagpur ground for the last time, where my journey in first-class cricket began 21 incredible years ago. It’s been an unforgettable ride, filled with cherished memories that I’ll hold dear forever.”
“Representing both the Indian Cricket Team and Vidarbha has been the greatest honor of my life, and donning those cricket jerseys has always filled me with immense pride. Farewell to my beloved Number 24 jersey – you’ll be deeply missed.”
“A heartfelt thank you to all my teammates, coaches, physios, and trainers, “and special mention to groundsmen”, family, friends, and supporters who’ve been my pillars of strength throughout this remarkable journey.”
“As one chapter closes, another awaits, and while bidding adieu to my professional cricket career fills me with mixed emotions, I’m eagerly looking forward to embracing the new adventures that lie ahead,” wrote Fazal on Instagram.
In his last match, Faiz scored just 1 run in the first innings and unfortunately registered a golden duck. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit, who was Vidarbha’s coach during their twin Ranji triumph heaped massive praise on the 38-year-old and remarked that he should have played more games for the country.
“He has been an outstanding player. His technique was impeccable. He was a very good slip fielder. He deserved to play more matches for India,” Pandit told TOI.
“During the three years I was Vidarbha coach, he always used to say that he wanted to play for India. It kept him motivated. After suffering the knee injury, he went under the knife for the same, maybe his body wasn’t supporting him, so he called it a day,” he added.
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