Rajasthan stalwart Vineet Saxena announces retirement

Rajasthan cricketer Vineet Saxena, whose marathon double hundred in the final helped the state win the Ranji Trophy in 2011-12, has announced retirement from the game.

The 39-year-old right-hander made his Ranji debut in 1998-99 against Bengal and represented Uttarakhand against Vidarbha in his last match in 2018-2019.

He is the only cricketer from Rajasthan to play 100 or more Ranji matches in a career spanning more than two decades.

While turning up for Rajasthan, Railways and Uttarakhand during his career, Saxena played 129 matches scoring 7637 runs, including one double hundred, 17 hundreds, and 38 half centuries at an average of 36.89.

The highest point of his career was a marathon 257 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji final of 2011-12 season which earned him the Man of the Match award and helped Rajasthan win the coveted title for a second consecutive time.

He also created the unique record of batting on all the five days of Ranji final. He was at the crease for 904 minutes and his 257 was the third longest innings in final.

Apart from his feats in domestic cricket, he also represented India in the under-19 category against Sri Lanka.

"I have been among the top scorers in the domestic cricket but got little opportunities at the top level but I am happy with what I could achieve in my long career," said Saxena.

The batsman said he is keen on taking up coaching now.

"I have done my BCCI level one coaching course so I wish to pursue coaching post retirement. It is time to give back to sport whatever it has given me," he said.

"I have what I could for Rajasthan Cricket. I was there in both the finals which Rajasthan won. I have informed about my retirement to Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and the BCCI," he added.