Karn Sharma Retires From Cricket After Nearly 20 Years and Four IPL Titles
Spinner Karn Sharma has retired from all cricket, ending a career with one Test, two ODIs, a T20I and IPL wins with three franchises.
By SportCricket Desk · 23 Aug 2026 · 3 min read
Karn Sharma has announced his retirement from cricket after nearly two decades in the game. He finishes with four IPL titles and a strong domestic record, and played one Test, two ODIs and one T20I for India, all in 2014.
He thanked his family, the BCCI, Railways, UPCA, Andhra, the Vidarbha Cricket Association and everyone who backed him along the way, and said he hopes to stay involved through coaching and other roles.
International career
Karn’s call-up followed a 2012–13 Ranji Trophy season in which he took 21 wickets in three matches at 19.04, earning the BCCI’s Best Under-25 Cricketer award. On the England tour he made his T20I debut and dismissed Joe Root, his only wicket in that format.
His ODI debut came against Sri Lanka in the match where Rohit Sharma scored 264, and he played two ODIs in that series. His only Test was against Australia in Adelaide later that year, where he took two wickets in each innings. It was his last game for India.
Domestic record
Karn began his first-class, List A and T20 careers in 2007–08. In 97 first-class matches he took 270 wickets at 27.60, with 14 five-wicket hauls, and scored 2,866 runs including two hundreds and 17 fifties. In List A he played 123 matches and took 153 wickets, and in T20 cricket he took 168 wickets in 191 matches.
Four IPL titles
Sunrisers Hyderabad signed him for INR 3.75 crore at the 2014 auction, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian player at that point. He then won the IPL in three straight seasons with three different teams.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2016
- Mumbai Indians, 2017
- Chennai Super Kings, 2018
He later played for Vidarbha and Andhra before returning to Railways, made his final IPL appearance for Mumbai Indians in 2025, and kept playing for Railways through 2025–26.
