Brisbane:Former Australia all-rounder and Chennai Super Kings opener Shane Watson formally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday.
The 39-year-old released a video announcing the decision on Tuesday. ''This closing chapter is going to be so hard to top, but I am going to try. I truly am forever grateful to have lived this amazing dream. Now onto the next exciting one...'' Watson tweeted.
Watson had informed about his decision to his teammates after CSK's final IPL 2020 match against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, which the Yellow Army won by nine wickets.
''It all started as a dream as a young kid saying to my Mum, as I watched a Test match, that I want to play for Australia. Now as I officially announce my retirement from all cricket I feel crazily lucky to live my dream,'' said Watson in a video posted on his website,
''To think that I'm finishing my playing days as a 39-year-old, after all of my injury setbacks that I had along the way, I feel so ridiculously fortunate,'' he added.
The decision brings the curtains down on a glittering IPL career, one that saw him lift two titles, in 2008 (RR) and 2018 (CSK) and two player of the tournament awards (2008 and 2013).
In all, Watson played 145 games for three teams in the competition, scoring 3874 runs at a strike-rate of 137.91. He hit four centuries and also claimed a hat-trick amongst his 92 IPL wickets. The 39-year-old has also captained both Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Watson continued to play in T20 leagues around the world since retiring from international cricket in 2016. He played 59 Tests, 190 ODIs, and 58 T20s at the international level and has won the ICC World Cup with Australia twice, in 2007 and in 2015.
In Tests, Watson scored 3731 runs and picked up 75 wickets and scored 5757 runs and scalped 168 wickets in ODIs to finish his career as one of the leading all-rounders of his era.(UNI)
