Gautam Gambhir retires from all forms of cricket

Gautam Gambhir retires: Former India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, saying his time to continue with the game was over.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, bringing an end to a career spanning almost 20 years. The Ranji Trophy game against Andhra Pradesh, starting from December 6 will be his last appearance on the cricket field.

The 37-year-old Delhi batsman announced his decision in a video posted on his Twitter and facebook pages.

In the heartfelt video, Gambhir termed the decision to call it quits the most dreaded one of his career. It slapped me hard when I got those three ducks in a row in 2014 IPL. Then again when I had a dreadful tour to England the same year. In 2016 I was on my knees again. I was dropped after Rajkot Test match against England. I was searching for my confidence in that deep, dark pit but I could only lay my hands on the same sharp, disturbing noise. It said the same: “IT IS OVER GAUTI”.

The two-time IPL champion with Kolkata Knight Riders said the disappointing first six matches with Delhi Daredevils was the final nail in the coffin. Gambhir had decided to step down from captaincy and ironically did not feature in any of the games last season.

"Despite all the aches and pains; fears and failures, I won’t mind a repeat of this in my next life too. But obviously, with a few more wins for India, a few more hundreds and in the next life may be a few 5-wicket hauls as well," Gambhir said."Thank you DDCA and BCCI for helping me realise my dreams. Thank you KKR for giving me an opportunity to express myself as leader.

Gambhir's video message

In the end I’d like to thank all my family members for their love and support. My parents, grandparents, both the mamas and maamis, my wife and my two little angels who took all my tantrums and mood swings."

He formed one of India's most stable and durable opening partnerships with Virender Sehwag, with the duo putting on an Indian-record 4412 runs in 87 innings together, spanning 2004 to 2012

Gambhir, who made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, went on to represent Delhi in 197 matches, scoring 15041 runs. He made his ODI debut in 2003 and soon after found his name in the Indian Test side in 2004 against a powerhouse Australian team. Gambhir played in 58 Tests between 2004 and 2016, scoring 4154 runs at an average of 41.95, with the help of nine hundreds and 22 fifties.

He also played in 147 ODIs between 2003 and 2013, besides featuring in 37 T20 Internationals.

He played crucial roles in two of India’s World Cup triumphs – the World T20 2007 and the ODI World Cup 2011. Gambhir scored 75 in the World T20 final against Pakistan and hammered a 97, coming into bat at No.3 in what is described as one of the greatest innings of ODI World Cup against Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 edition.