IPL 2012 Champion and domestic veteran Rajat Bhatia announces retirement from all forms

Staunch domestic player Rajat Bhatia has hung up his boots from the International cricket after serving the game for long 20 years. He was also the member of 2012 IPL Champion team of Kolkata Knight Riders. He played 112 first-class games and smashed 17 centuries and 50 half-centuries. His last First-class game came against Mizoram in January 2019 where he led Uttarakhand to a win by an innings and 56 runs.

The all-rounder started his domestic career with Tamil Nadu in 1999-2000 season before moving to Delhi in 2003-04. Bhatia`s 525 runs and 26 wickets in nine games– including a gutsy knock of 139 runs in the final against Uttar Pradesh– were instrumental in Delhi lifting the Ranji Trophy in 2007-08. He also featured in List A cricket in Bangladesh last season.

Rajat Bhatia took a call for retirement last year itself

Rajat said that he had taken a call on retirement last year only but the COVID-19 pandemic ruined his plans of featuring in some more cricket games.

“I had decided last year for retiring. I was not playing domestic cricket here and then got to do commentary. Then I was playing as a professional in Bangladesh but this year they stopped hiring professionals and then coronavirus happened. Therefore, I thought it was time to retire,” Bhatia said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

When asked about the highs of the game he nourished while playing, he said, “The highs would surely be winning the Ranji Trophy for Delhi in the 2007-08 season, the IPL in 2012 with KKR and personally getting Sachin Tendulkar out thrice in the IPL, which I was able to play for 10 years.

Rajat believes that domestic game standards have improved but player injuries still unmanaged. When asked about the difference in domestic cricket standards now from the time he started playing, the veteran responded, “The structure has improved to make the game more competitive. But surprisingly, when it comes to injury management, we are still behind. When you are starting your career in India, you tend to get injured a lot, there is a lack of knowledge on that front. It is not cricket-related, it is just about understanding your body and its movements.

Rajat has completed a course in bio-mechanics from an institute in Hawaii and aspires to have a career in that field. “I have cleared stage 2, now I will be doing bio-mechanics 3. We have many bio-mechanics specialists in bowling but not in training. I can catch the movements of players and help them.”

Bhatia also expressed his desire to help the budding cricketers manage their injuries by stating that, “Thanks to this course that I have done, I know my body much better and I feel have not moved as well as I have been moving over the last three years. I want to help the youngsters on that front.”