Former Indian goalie-hitter Naman Ojha announced on Monday his retirement from all forms of cricket, opening the curtain on an illustrious two-decade domestic career.
The 37-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, who holds the record for most layoffs by a wicketkeeper at the Ranji Trophy, has appeared in one Test, one ODI and two T20 Internationals.
“I would like to announce my retirement,” Ojha, who struggled to hold back tears, said at a virtual press conference.
“It is time for me to move on. It was a long journey, I am grateful for having had this opportunity and I was able to fulfill my dream of playing for the country and the state, ”he said.
Ojha made his international debut in 2010 in his only ODI against Sri Lanka, followed by his first T20I match in Zimbabwe a week later. His only test was in 2015 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Although Ojha’s international career never took off, the Ujjain-born player has played 146 first-class games with 9,753 runs with 22 hundreds to an average of 41.67 in a career spanning two decades.
The right-handed hitter has been excellent on the domestic circuit with both gloves and bat. In the 143 games on List A and 182 T20s, Ojha racked up 4,278 and 2,972 runs respectively.
He last appeared in a Ranji Trophy match for MP against Uttar Pradesh in January last year. He had captained MP in that Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Indore.
In the Indian Premier League, Ojha played for the Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Daredevils.
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