Indian cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy officially announced her retirement from all forms of the game on Friday, July 25. The former India batter was part of the squads that finished runners-up in the 2017 ODI World Cup against England and the 2020 T20 World Cup against Australia.
In an emotional message shared on social media, Veda reflected on her cricketing journey that began in her hometown of Kadur.
“𝑨 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒓,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆. “𝑰 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆… 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒔, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒚.”
A Career of Impact and Passion
Known for her aggressive style in the middle order, Veda played 48 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 76 T20 Internationals for India. She accumulated 829 runs and took 3 wickets in ODIs, and scored 875 runs in T20Is. Her final appearance in Indian colors came during the 2020 T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), while her last ODI was in April 2018.
Recognized as one of the finest fielders in the women’s game, Veda holds the joint record for the most catches in a Women’s T20I by a non-wicketkeeper.
“𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.”
Veda also represented Hobart Hurricanes in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) during the 2017–18 season, scoring 144 runs in nine matches. Later, she joined Gujarat Giants for the second edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2024 but wasn’t retained for the following season.
Ready for Her “Second Innings”
While she hasn’t played for India in recent years, Veda transitioned into a career as a commentator and broadcaster after not being picked for the national side and missing out in the inaugural WPL auction. Despite limited opportunities in recent domestic competitions, her love for the game remains as strong as ever.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌,” 𝑽𝒆𝒅𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝑰’𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.”
In her farewell note, Veda extended heartfelt gratitude to her family, mentors, BCCI, KSCA, Railways, and the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC). She credited them all for shaping her both as a player and a person.
As she steps away from active cricket, Veda Krishnamurthy looks forward to continuing her association with the game, ready to contribute in new ways off the field. Her legacy, built on grit, passion, and pride for the Indian jersey, will remain an inspiration for future generations.
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