India batter Vanitha VR retires from all forms of cricket

Indian cricketer, VR Vanitha, has announced her retirement from all forms of the game. The batter took to Twitter to make the announcement. Senior Indian cricketers and teammates, Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj were amongst some of the players Vanitha thanked in her retirement post.

She also went on to thank her other teammates, family members, mentors and also her friends. She further thanked the state associations of Karnataka and Bengal having represented the two states 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 wrote 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,” she added.

Vanitha had a short playing stint for India

The right-handed batter made her ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2014 at the age of 23. Between 2016 and 2018, Vanitha represented India in 6 ODIs and 16 T20Is. In her post, she stated her dilemma saying the heart wants her to play but the body does not allow it. While admitting that there were a few regrets along her journey, Vanitha expressed her gratitude for getting the chance to represent India.

In her short career span, the Bengaluru born cricketer scored 85 ODI runs and 216 runs in T20I cricket for India. She was also a part of the Indian squad for the 2016 Women’s World T20 played at home. While she opened the batting in T20 cricket, Vanitha usually batted in the middle overs when it came to the One Day format.

Vanitha was also instrumental in guiding her domestic side, Bengal, to the semi-finals of the 2021-22 Women’s senior One-Day Trophy. Showing excellent form with a strike rate of over 100 in the tournament, the middle order batter scored 225 runs for her side over the duration of the tournament, with her innings of 61 versus Andhra and a 107 off 71 balls against Hyderabad being the highlight.

The cricketer signed off without disclosing much of her plans, however, she stated her desire to dedicate the next chapter of her life to groom younger cricketers. She concluded her retirement post as the beginning of a new challenge and not the end.