Kedar Jadhav has retired from all forms of cricket and, in the process, emulated MS Dhoni in announcing the big decision on Monday. Jadhav, who represented India in 73 ODIs and 122 T20Is between November 2014 and February 2020, took to Instagram and, in a very Dhoni-esque way, wrote: “Thank you all for your love and support throughout my Career from 1500 hrs. Consider me retired from all forms of cricket.”
Jadhav, who last played for India against New Zealand in an ODI in Auckland, made his debut against Sri Lanka in Ranchi in a match that was captained by Virat Kohli. A few months later, Jadhav scored his maiden century for India in an ODI against Zimbabwe and goes down, having scored 1389 runs at an average of 42.09, including six half-centuries and two hundreds. Jadhav’s retirement comes two days after Dinesh Karthik rode into the sunset.
Jadhav’s most prolific international knock, however, is the 120 he scored off just 76 balls as India chased down a mammoth 351 against England in Pune. He and Kohli scored scintillating centuries, adding a riveting partnership of 200 runs, but the former India captain was outshined by Jadhav’s Player-of-the-Match worthy performance. He was also part of India’s 2019 World Cup squad that made the semi-final, and although he endured a pretty lukewarm outing with 80 runs from five innings, his innings of 52 against West Indies dug India out of a hole and paved the way for victory.
Jadhav shot into the limelight during the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy, where he emerged as the highest run scorer of the season with 1223 runs while averaging 87.35. This included six half-centuries and two fifties with a best of 204. Jadhav’s red-hot form propelled Maharashtra to the final, where they lost to Karnataka. Besides, Jadhav played 93 IPL matches, scoring 1196 runs, including stints with Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kochi Tuskers Kerala (now defunct), Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.