Visibly emotional and fighting back tears, Indian leg-spinner Karn Sharma announced his retirement from all formats of competitive cricket.
Often referred to as the ultimate lucky charm, Sharma has won four IPL titles. 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. However, his legacy is most famously cemented in the Indian Premier League.
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, 2026), will be his final professional game, according to a press release.
For me and others, it is a good opportunity,” Sharma said. 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. I will be playing my last game on Tuesday, and I will be retiring from all formats.
Following in the footsteps of Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sharma became the third cricketer from Meerut to make massive national headlines when Sunrisers Hyderabad purchased him for ₹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 ₹23 Lakh. 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 has been very lucky for everyone, and whichever team he has played for, that team has gone on to become champions,” Chikara said.