This Indian wicket-keeper retires from international cricket: Details here
What's the story
Indian wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 32. The Andhra Pradesh cricketer made his debut in the national team during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He played seven Tests for India, scoring a total of 221 runs in 12 innings with an average of 20.09 and a best score of 44.
Domestic career
Bharat thanks Kohli, Rohit, Dravid
Bharat, who played for Andhra Pradesh in domestic cricket, was the first wicketkeeper-batter to score a triple century in the Ranji Trophy. He scored 308 off 311 balls against Goa during the 2014-15 season. Bharat thanked former India captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, under whom he made his IPL and international debuts, along with former head coach Rahul Dravid.
IPL journey
Other notable details
Bharat played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2021 and Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022. He was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad that won the IPL title in 2024 as a spare player. Despite his retirement from international cricket, Bharat has made it clear that he will continue to stay involved with the sport by mentoring and coaching younger players.
Numbers
Here are his overall numbers
Bharat, who made his professional debut in February 2012, clocked 6,102 runs from 113 First-Class games at 36.53 (100s: 11, 50s: 34). He was part of the Indian XI that lost to Australia in the 2023 World Test Championship final. 2,692 of his runs came in 83 List A matches at 36.37 (100s: 8, 50s: 10). In 91 T20 matches, Bharat hammered 1,812 runs while averaging 23.23 (50s: 11).