Rajasthan Royals (RR) wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik retired from all forms of cricket on November 28. Yagnik played his last First-Class match for Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy 2017-18 against Saurashtra. The wicketkeeper-batsman wanted to retire in the mid-season but stayed till the last league match of Rajasthan because of skipper Pankaj Singh’s unavailability.
Yagnik got emotional when the players gave him the farewell after the game on November 28. Yagnik took three catches and scored 4 and 16 in first and second innings respectively in his farewell game.
Yagnik revealed how he decided to hang his wicketkeeping gloves in an interview with Sportstarlive.
To be honest, it was a tough call (to walk into retirement), but I had to stop somewhere. It was so difficult to motivate myself. At this age, you can’t dream of playing for India, neither can you bag an IPL contract.
ALSO READ: 3 experiments India should try in the final Test vs Sri Lanka to be South Africa ready!
The wicketkeeper-batsman recalls his stint with RR and how Rahul Dravid helped him.
It has been an honour playing for Rajasthan Royals, under Rahul (Dravid) bhai. Those memories are special. So many memories keep flowing in.
Dravid congratulated the 34-year-old for his 13-year-long First-Class career via a text message.
Dear Dishant, congrats on your fine career. Was a pleasure to play with you and to know you and your lovely family. Best wishes to you in your future endeavours,
Dishant recalled one of the most cherished moments of his career. A nerve-wrecking Duleep Trophy match between Central Zone and East Zone where he won the match for his team with a six off the last ball from former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
We required five runs in the last ball, and Dada was bowling. Anyone would have crumbled under pressure, but I don’t know how I hit him for a six.
Yagnik also shared his plans for life after retirement.
I want to start as a wicket-keeping and fielding coach. My immediate target is to help Rajasthan U-19 team. I have requested the officials, let’s see what happens.
RR will be back in IPL 2018. But it seemed that Yagnik had no hopes of making a comeback in the cash-rich T20 league and decided to call it quits ahead of IPL 2018 player auction.
ALSO READ: Shane Warne to coach Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League 2018!
Here’s a video of Yagnik from 2014 posted by RR –
He made his IPL debut in 2011 and played 25 matches for the franchise till 2014. He scored 170 runs in 17 innings at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 124.09, with the personal highest score of 34.
Copyright © 2024 IE Online Media Services Private Ltd. All Rights Reserved.