Rajat Bhatia calls time on 21-year cricketing career

On Wednesday, Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia announced his retirement from all forms of cricket following a 21-year-old cricketing career. Whilst he made his debut for Tamil Nadu in the 1999-2000 season of the Ranji Trophy, the all-rounder later moved to Delhi, where he spent a major chunk of his cricketing career. However, in 2015, he moved states to Uttarakhand for whom he played four years before pulling the retirement trigger. 

Since debut, the right-hander has scored 6482 first-class runs at a staggering average of 49.10, with 17 hundreds and 30 fifties against his name. On top of that, his IPL career saw a massive rise and dip in his stints with Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders amongst others, where he developed a reputation as an extremely effective middle-overs bowler. In 2007, Bhatia was pretty much in the thick of things when Delhi won the Ranji Trophy, where he scored 512 runs. 

After a modest return in the home colours of Delhi Daredevils, the all-rounder found a rather successful home at the Eden Gardens with the Kolkata Knight Riders. His all-round presence alongside his friend Gautam Gambhir had propelled the Knight Riders to two IPL wins - in 2012 and 2014. Whilst he only scored 342 runs with his bat in the prestigious competition, it came at a strike-rate of 120, boosting the side to crucial wins. 

Alongside that, in the bowling department, he struck 71 times with the medium pace that fetched him accolades. He was last seen in the 2017 IPL season with Rising Pune Supergiant before going unpicked in the following seasons.