Five domestic stalwarts bring curtains to illustrious Ranji careers

The ongoing Ranji Trophy 202324 season marks the end of an era in domestic cricket with five heavyweights bidding adieu to the game leaving a huge void to fillBengal legend Manoj Tiwary Jharkhand duo of bighitting Saurabh Tiwary and express pacer Varun Aaron Mumbai stalwart Dhawal Kulkarni and Vidrabhas Ranji Trophywinning captain Faiz Fazal have decided to bring curtains to their illustrious domestic careersThe reasons for their retirement are varied ranging from not having anything to play for IPL contract or national callup to embarking on new adventures or focussing on politicsFor Aaron Manoj and Faiz life came a full circle as they said goodbye at the same venue they began their domestic journeysBut needless to say domestic cricket will be poorer without the quintet turning outOne of the doyens of domestic cricket Bengals Manoj Tiwary said goodbye to his beloved 22 yards after leading his state to a comprehensive Ranji Trophy 202324 win over Bihar on MondayTiwary served his state for over 19 years the 38yearold had taken Bengal to the finals of the Ranji Trophy last seasonAn aggressive batter he has over 10000 first class run in his kitty As a captain he always led from the front helping Bengal become a force to reckon withAlso ReadIPL takes the crownThe absence of the supremely experienced duo Aaron and swashbuckling Saurabh Tiwary will be a big void Jharkhand will have to fillTiwary a left handed middle order batter made his firstclass debut while he was still a teenager in the 200607 Ranji Trophy season Over the last 17 years the Jharkhand captain became a prolific rungetter in domestic cricket playing 115 firstclass matches amassing 8030 runs in 189 innings at an average of 4751 including 22 hundreds and 34 fiftiesI think if you are unable to make in the national team or IPL it is best time to leave space for talented youngsters Tiwary said while announcing his retirement last weekOne of the countrys fastest bowlers Aaron has been unable to realise his potential due to persistent injuries that included a series of stress fractures in the back and the legsBut the pacer who grabbed everyones attention with the 153kmph delivery in the 201011 Vijay Hazare Trophy final still managed to snare 173 first class wickets in the 66 games he played at an average of 3327This might be my last game in front of my family and the people of Jamshedpur because we dont often play whiteball games here Keenan StadiumI had started my career here so this is quite emotional for me Aaron who wrapped his redball career with a match haul of five wickets was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfoFazal hangs his boots after 21 years service to Vidarbha having contributed immensely to their legacy The elegant opener famously led them to their maiden Ranji Tropy title in 2018 He was the sides leading run getter that seasonFazal began his firstclass career with a bang scoring 151 on debut in Plate Group match against Jammu and Kashmir in December 2003 Since then the southpaw has been everpresent at the top of the Vidharbha batting order thanks to his impeccable techniqueHe collected 9183 runs in first class cricket 3641 runs in List A games and 1273 in T20s and retires as Vidarbhas leading rungetter in both List A cricket and firstclass cricketThe 38yearold also played one ODI for India in 2016 against Zimbabwe scoring an unbeaten 55 but never got selected for the national team againKnown for his swing movement and accuracy with the new ball Mumbais Kulkarni quickly established himself as one of the most reliable seam bowlers in domestic cricketA bigmatch player Kulkarni eked out several outstanding performances in his 17year domestic career including fivefors in three Ranji Trophy finals So important is Kulkarnis experience in the team that the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA requested the medium pacer to put off his retirement until the end of the season The 35yearold played 95 FirstClass matches and has taken 281 wickets at an average of 2731With agency inputs