Kedar Jadhav draws curtains on 17-year professional cricket career

K‌edar Jadhav made the announcement through a brief post on social media mimicking his former Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's revelation four years ago.

“Thank you all For your love and support throughout my Career from 1500 hrs. Consider me as retired from all forms of cricket,” Jadhav wrote.

Jadhav began his career in 2007/08 for Maharashtra where he instantly caught the eye for his attacking brand of batting regardless of the format. The middle-order dynamo first burst into the national conscience on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in 2010 with a 28-ball half-century against future employers Royal Challengers Bangalore. Jadhav also went on to play for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, CSK, and SRH, where he ended his franchise career in 2021 after going unsold at the ensuing year's mega auction. The batter racked up 93 appearances across 11 seasons and aggregated 1,196 runs at an average of 22.15 and a strike rate of 123.17, managing four half-centuries in the process.

Jadhav made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2014 and remained a sporadic member of the 50-over setup up till 2020, with a brief stint as team regular in 2016-17. The Pune-born batter struck two centuries on the international stage, including a famous 76-ball 120 against England on his home ground in 2017 that formed part of a 200-run stand with then-skipper Virat Kohli to help India complete a record chase of 351 from precarious situation of 63/4. Jadhav's 73rd and final ODI appearance came in New Zealand in 2020 as he ended with 1,389 at an impressive average of 42.09 while striking at over run-a-ball and scalping 27 wickets. Jadhav also donned the Indian blue nine times in T20 cricket but without much success.

Jadhav's last professional appearance came in the Ranji Trophy against Vidarbha in February, scoring 379 runs in five matches in his final season. The 39-year-old  finished on 6,100 at an average of 48.03, with a stellar 182 against Jharkhand in Pune in January being his 17th ton.