Piyush Chawla Announces Retirement from All Forms of Cricket

India's two-time World Cup-winning spinner Piyush Chawla has officially called time on his cricketing career. The 36-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Friday afternoon through a heartfelt statement on Instagram, bringing down the curtain on a journey that started when he was just a teenager.

“After more than two decades on the field, the time has come to bid adieu to the beautiful game,” Chawla wrote. “From representing India at the highest level to being part of the victorious 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup squads, every moment in this incredible journey has been nothing short of a blessing. These memories will forever remain etched in my heart.” 

A crafty leg-spinner with a sharp googly and a calm temperament, Chawla was part of two of India’s biggest moments in cricket history — the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007 and the ODI World Cup win in 2011. He played three Tests, 25 ODIs, and seven T20Is for India, collecting 43 wickets across formats. Chawla also holds some rare milestones. At 17 years and 79 days, he became the youngest bowler to take a wicket in IPL history. And if that wasn’t enough, he remains the only Indian to claim three three-wicket hauls in his first three ODIs — a record that still stands. 

In the IPL, Chawla had an impressive run. He turned out for multiple franchises including Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Mumbai Indians. He played a key role in KKR’s 2014 title-winning campaign and even hit the winning runs in the final. “Thank you to the IPL franchises who placed their trust in me – Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Mumbai Indians,” he added in his statement. 

Chawla burst into the spotlight when, as a teenager, he famously bowled Sachin Tendulkar with a googly during the Challenger Series in 2005-06. It was a moment that made people take notice. By the time he was 17, he had made his first-class debut. Over the years, he turned into a domestic giant. Chawla played 137 first-class matches and picked up a whopping 446 wickets. In the limited-overs formats, he featured in 164 List-A games and 297 T20 matches, grabbing a total of 573 wickets between them. Interestingly, Chawla has over 1000 wickets across formats in domestic cricket.  

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