'If you don't have an IPL contract, your cricket career is virtually over': Ex-KKR batter reveals why domestic cricketers are retiring early

'If you don't have an IPL contract, your cricket career is virtually over': Ex-KKR batter reveals why domestic cricketers are retiring early
Mandeep Singh runs to save his wicket during the IPL 2023 clash between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on April 20, 2023.

Highlights:

Mandeep Singh scored a century for Tripura against Services in their recent encounter.

Mandeep has represented four IPL franchises.

Mandeep took inspiration from his Under-19 teammates Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal.

The fire in 33-year-old Mandeep Singh hasn't burned out yet. Mandeep who made his first-class debut in 2010 scored his 16th century in the format. On January 26, Mandeep scored an unbeaten 124 off 130 balls for Tripura against Services in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Last year in August, Mandeep was informed by Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) that he isn't in their white-ball scheme of things anymore. Dejected yet determined, Mandeep chose to play for Tripura instead of following plenty other domestic cricketers' footsteps to end their career and play in leagues for retired players. 

After the satisfying century against Services, Mandeep recalled taking inspiration from his Under-19 teammates Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal who are still hopeful of making a comeback to the Indian team. 

After scoring 407 runs from seven innings at an average of 101.75 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season and finishing with 325 runs from six innings in Vijay Hazare Trophy, he revealed that the thought of retirement never came once. He also expressed that he was shocked to see players of his age retiring early. However, he understands why players are doing so and how not having an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract plays on players' minds.

“I guess the IPL is a big factor. If you don’t have an IPL contract, your cricket career is virtually over. There are leagues for retired players where you can earn good money for 15-20-day tournaments. If you have played for India, you can easily make Rs 1 crore in a year. Maybe it is one of the reasons, or maybe the fire is not in them anymore,” he told The Indian Express.

 

 

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Snub from IPL franchises

Mandeep has been facing snub from franchises in the last two auctions. His last appearance in IPL was in the 2023 edition for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Delhi Capitals (DC). He was among three batters who scored in double digits in that encounter. KKR ended up losing the match by four wickets after posting an under-par score.

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Mandeep's statistics 

Mandeep made his T20I debut for India in 2016 on Zimbabwe tour under MS Dhoni's captaincy. He scored 87 runs from three innings including an unbeaten half-century. His first-class record has been impressive as well. From 104 games, he has scored 6,855 runs averaging nearly 50. Apart from 16 centuries, he has 38 fifties as well.