Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Karuna Jain has decided to hang up her boots as she announces retirement from all formats of cricket. She made her debut against West Indies in Lucknow in 2004. She has represented India in 44 ODIs, five Tests and nine T20Is between 2004 and 2014.
Jain scored an unbeaten 68 on her ODI debut and became just the fifth Indian woman to score a fifty on debut. The Bangalore-born also holds the third-highest score in women's ODI by a wicketkeeper-batter on debut after Reshma Gandhi’s 104* and Anju Jain’s 84* in women's ODIs.
Karuna Jain announced her retirement through an Instagram post. She wrote, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my cricketing journey from the very beginning to all my coaches, support staff and my teammates whose been a part throughout my career."
“Each one of them has taught me something different about the game and life that made me the player and person I am today. It’s been an incredible journey I’ve been able to have and it would not have been possible without everyone who supported me during my ups and downs,” Karuna continued.
In women’s Tests, she was involved in 17 dismissals in Test cricket which is the second-highest tally among Indian keepers after Anju Jain, who has 23 dismissals under her belt. “My family being the biggest support and my brother being a cricketer himself made it easy and challenging for me to adopt, the game and deliver the best in every time I stepped onto the grounds,” her statement continued.
Karuna Jain also thanked her family as well as the BCCI and state associations she represented in domestic cricket. She further added, “I could continue to play the sport and contribute for a very long time because of unflinching support and sacrifices done by them.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and the State Association that I have represented which include Air India, Karnataka and Pondicherry and all the support extended by them. With a lot of happy and satisfied feelings, I’m able to make this announcement of my retirement from all forms of cricket and looking forward to contributing back to the game.”