Former Delhi wicketkeeper Punit Bisht announces retirement from cricket

Former Delhi wicketkeeper-batter Punit Bisht has called time on his stellar 17-year-long career on Wednesday, August 2. For the unversed, the 37-year-old batter partnered with Virat Kohli in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi after the death of the latter's father.

Kohli's father, Prem Kohli, died when the former India captain was just 17. Even though his father had suffered a brain stroke in the middle of the night, the star Indian batter went to bat with Bisht by his side against Karnataka in 2006.

Bisht has played a total of 272 matches across three formats and won the Ranji Trophy with Delhi in 2007-08 and has also played for Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya. He has appeared in 103 first-class matches and scored 5231 runs, including ten hundreds, at a strike rate of 62.71 and an average of 38.74. In List A, he scored 2924 runs in 103 matches, including six tons, with an average of 38.98 and a strike rate of 100.48.

His highest first-class individual score was 343 for Meghalaya against Sikkim in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy. He will also be noted for his magnificent 146-run knock in 51 balls, which included six boundaries and 17 maximums, while leading Meghalaya to a stunning 130-run win over Mizoram in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament in 2021.

I thought this is the best time to call it quits from competitive cricket: Bisht

Punit Bisht, speaking on his retirement, stated that he feels this is the perfect moment to retire from competitive cricket. The 37-year-old believes he has nothing left to achieve as a player and that his most memorable event was winning the Ranji Trophy.

“I thought this is the best time to call it quits from competitive cricket. I have played 100-plus games across both First-Class and List A format and nearly 275 (272) competitive games if you take Mushtaq Ali T20 into account. There is nothing more to achieve as a player and I believe this is the right time to bid adieu. The most memorable moment will remain winning the Ranji Trophy. I would like to thank BCCI, DDCA, JKCA and Meghalaya CA for being a part of this journey,” Bisht was quoted as saying by News18.