The 38-year-old made the announcement following the Kanpur Superstars’ 9-wicket defeat to the Meerut Mavericks in the UP T20 League Season 4, confirming that the reverse fixture against Meerut on Tuesday, August 25, will be his final professional game, according to a press release. Visibly emotional and fighting back tears, veteran Indian leg-spinner Karn Sharma announced his retirement from all formats of competitive cricket.
For me and others, it is a good opportunity,” Sharma said. Sharma reflected on the UP T20 League and the sudden finality of his long journey, saying, “It [the UP T20 League] is actually a very good initiative. “The message is that… I just want to retire.
I will be playing my last game on Tuesday, and I will be retiring from all formats.”
Often referred to as the ultimate lucky charm, Sharma has won four IPL titles.
He holds the incredibly rare distinction of achieving a championship “three-peat” across three different franchises in consecutive years: Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, Mumbai Indians in 2017, and Chennai Super Kings in 2018, before winning a fourth with CSK in 2021. However, his legacy is most famously cemented in the Indian Premier League.
Following in the footsteps of Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sharma became the third cricketer from Meerut to make national headlines when Sunrisers Hyderabad purchased him for Rs 3.75 crore in the 2014 IPL auction, making him the highest-paid uncapped player at the time. His value in the T20 format remained sky-high until the very end, as he became the highest-priced player at the UP T20 2026 auction for the second consecutive season when the Kanpur Superstars acquired him for Rs 23 lakh.
He has been very lucky for everyone, and whichever team he has played for, that team has gone on to become champions,” Chikara said. His consistent performances earned him a national call-up, and he went on to represent India in one Test, two ODIs, and one T20 International. Following the announcement, Meerut Mavericks skipper and Indian international Rinku Singh praised Sharma’s extensive contributions to the game. Swastik Chikara, the Mavericks’ young opener, echoed the sentiment, highlighting the impact of sharing the field with a player of Sharma’s calibre. “Karn bhai has had a fantastic career. “He’s a very good person and has played excellent cricket. He has played for India and achieved so much. Having such a big player playing alongside us is a very special thing for me. So, thank you, I don’t really know what more I can say.”
I’m very happy that his retirement happened in front of me today and that I got to witness it.
