Abhishek Nayar announces retirement from domestic cricket

A man of gentle and amiable disposition with a zeal of steel, Nayar always seemed destined to continue until so many bodily parts, that he needed to be carried into the middle, fell off. He recognised his body with admirable clarity that he has it in him to serve the game for a bit too long. The 36-year-old played 99 first-class games while being a part of Mumbai, but then in his quest to play his 100th game, he shifted his base to Puducherry for whom he played in his last four FC games, taking five for 76 against Sikkim in his last FC innings.

"Yes, I gave a letter to the BCCI and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) when I was in the West Indies (to help the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League) last month, informing them of my decision to quit the game. I thanked both of them, all my coaches, my teammates, family and friends for all the support they gave me through my thick and thin," Nayar told TOI on Tuesday (October 23).

"At the end of the day, I've no regrets in my career, not even the fact that I couldn't play my 100th first-class game for Mumbai. After all, how many players get to play 99 games for Mumbai? I'm lucky that I played 99. Not playing that one game doesn't change the way I look at the 99 games I played for Mumbai. I'm extremely happy and content with my career, and Mumbai cricket will always have a special place close to my heart. I know what it takes to be a part of that dressing room. I made good friends in my game, and played with all my heart and will."

Nayar had a career to be proud of, in which he scored 5749 runs in 103 matches at an average of 45.62, with 13 centuries and 32 fifties under his belt, and was one of Mumbai's biggest cricketing names despite playing only three ODIs for India. His involvement with Dinesh Karthik and how that helped the latter make a comeback to the national team was one of the most celebrated stories to have come out of the Indian cricketing circuit in the last one year.

Nayar might have only played three international matches in his career, but his contributions to the growth of Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, and Siddhesh Lad, to name a few, have been immense. He also runs an academy at the Wilson College Gymkhana for underpriviliged kids, and along with former Mumbai batsman Sahil Kukreja, supports orphanages as well. His academy True2Sports also managed to send a few underpriviliged kids to Durham University in England to play cricket.