Karn Sharma brought the curtain down on his international and Indian domestic cricket career, ending a journey that saw him represent the national team, become a four-time IPL champion and establish himself as one of the most experienced leg-spinners on the domestic circuit.
The 38-year-old announced his decision after Saturday night’s UP T20 League match between Kanpur Superstars and Meerut Mavericks. Sharma will play his final professional game when Kanpur Superstars face Meerut Mavericks again on August 25.
“I now want to retire. I am extremely grateful to my family, BCCI, Railways, UPCA, Andhra, Vidarbha Cricket Association and everyone who has supported me throughout this journey,” Cricinfo quoted Karn as saying.
“After this, I will be available for coaching and other responsibilities related to the game of cricket,” he added.
Sharma’s international career was brief but memorable. He played one Test, two ODIs and one T20I for India, all of them coming during a short international window in 2014. He made his first-class, List A and T20 debuts during the 2007-08 season. Primarily a leg-spinner, he also developed into a useful lower-order batter and made an immediate impression in red-ball cricket by scoring a century on his Ranji Trophy debut.
His breakthrough season came in 2012-13. Sharma picked up 21 wickets in just three Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 19.04, performances that earned him the BCCI’s Best Under-25 Cricketer award and helped push him into the national selection picture. His growing reputation was reflected at the 2014 IPL auction. Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Sharma for INR 3.75 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian player at an IPL auction at that time.
Sharma’s IPL performances soon earned him an India call-up. He was selected for the limited-overs tour of England in 2014 and made his T20I debut against England in Birmingham. He picked up Joe Root as his only T20I wicket and finished his solitary appearance in the format with figures of 1/28.
Sharma was subsequently included in India’s ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. His ODI debut came in the famous Kolkata match in which Rohit Sharma produced a world-record 264. Karn played two ODIs in the series but did not manage to take a wicket in either outing.
Later that year, he received an opportunity in Test cricket. Sharma made his debut against Australia in Adelaide and claimed two wickets in each innings, finishing with four wickets in the match.
Karn’s IPL career
The legspinner finished with four IPL titles, winning the tournament with three different franchises. His first title came with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. He then became part of the Mumbai Indians’ title-winning campaign in 2017 before joining the Chennai Super Kings for their triumphant 2018 season. Sharma’s fourth IPL winner’s medal arrived in 2021, again with CSK. Overall, he played IPL for four franchises – CSK, SRH, MI and RCB.
Sharma became the first player to win three successive IPL titles while representing three different franchises, SRH in 2016, MI in 2017 and CSK in 2018. For several years, he stood alone for that achievement. In 2026, Phil Salt and Suyash Sharma joined him in the exclusive group after being part of three successive title-winning campaigns.
In first-class cricket, he played 97 matches and took 270 wickets at an average of 27.60, including 14 five-wicket hauls. He also scored 2,866 runs, with two centuries and 17 fifties. His List A record comprises 123 matches and 153 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls. In T20 cricket, Sharma took 168 wickets in 191 matches, while his IPL tally stands at 83 wickets in 90 matches.