Very recently, former Indian U-19 captain and IPL player Unmukt Chand decided to retire from international cricket in India and with that, he got the permission to play elsewhere across the world. Instantly, he chose USA as his next destination to play cricket and he even had a deal waiting for him, representing Silicon Valley Strikers in USA’s Major League Cricket.
And obviously, the bold move to retire at such a young age got him dividends as he also became the first Indian to be selected to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) where he hasn’t played a game yet but was signed by the Melbourne Renegades. The move also inspired other cricketers to move in the same direction and the most recent player to do so is Chandigarh all-rounder, Bipul Sharma.
Bipul Sharma announces domestic retirement
The Punjab-based cricketer represented Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he got 17 wickets in 33 career IPL games and scored 187 runs at an impressive strike rate of 152.03, including a personal best of 35*. In the domestic circuit, he bagged 84 wickets and scored 1,203 runs in 105 T20 matches.
His FC record is even more impressive, with 126 wickets and 3,012 runs in 59 games and a top score of 200 runs with the bat. However, he’s leaving all this behind now as he’s gone on to announce his domestic retirement which will free him of his BCCI contract to play in other franchise leagues and countries the world.
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The left-arm spinner was part of the SRH squad that won the IPL 2016 title and he has played for multiple teams in the Indian domestic circuit as well, so there’s plenty of experience under his belt. One of the most memorable moments of his career will always be taking the wicket of AB de Villiers in the IPL 2016 final as well.
Bipul Sharma’s future in cricket?
The 38-year old has retired with a clear idea of moving to USA to play cricket. However, we wonder how much cricket he even has left in him at that age. While he’s likely to get a couple of seasons playing domestic tournaments in USA, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever get the chance to play for the USA national cricket team because he will have to fulfill certain criteria which may take a few years.
For someone like Unmukt Chand, there’s a good part of 10-odd years still left in him while a Bipul Sharma may not have those many years left, so we doubt he has much of a cricketing future left in USA. He took to his social media accounts to pen an emotional note on his retirement, talking about a journey of 25 years in Indian cricket!
We wish Bipul the best of luck for this new innings in his cricketing career. He’ll take a lot of experience to the USA and will surely add a lot of value to any team he plays for. Let’s see how he goes in time, and for similar updates on cricketers from around the world and their journeys, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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