New Delhi: Batter VR Vanitha, who represented India in six women’s ODIs and 16 T20Is from 2014 to 2016, announced Monday her retirement from all forms of the game. Vanitha, who his just 31, left her former teammates stunned by her sudden retirement decision.
Vanitha made her announcement via Twitter. India teammates Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj were among those thanked the cricketer. Vanitha made her debut for the national team in an ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2014. She also thanked her family members, friends, mentor and other teammates who had been part of her journey in the sport. She conveyed her gratefulness to two state associations – Karnataka and Bengal – states she represented in domestic cricket.
“19 years ago, when I started playing, I was just a little girl who loved sport. Even to this day, my love for cricket remains the same. What’s changing is direction. My heart says continue playing, my body says stop and I have decided to listen to the latter. Time is ripe to hang my boots,” Vanitha said in the post.
“I hereby announce my retirement from all forms of cricket. It’s been a journey of struggles, joy, heartbreak, learning and personal milestones. While there are a few regrets, I’m grateful for the opportunities I got, especially to represent India,” Vanitha added.
Vanitha called her retirement from the game ‘not the end but the beginning of a new challenge’.
In the limited number of ODIs and T20Is she played, Vanitha scored 85 and 216 runs respectively. She was a part of India’s squad during the Women’s World T20 at home.
During the 2021-22 domestic season, Vanitha guided Bengal to the semifinals of the Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy, scoring 225 runs with knocks of 61 against Andhra and a 71-ball 107 against Hyderabad. She enjoyed a strike rate of over 100 in the tournament.
