Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) leg-spinner Rahul Sharma has decided time on his career from all formats of the game as he is set to take part in the second edition of the Road Safety World Series. Sharma will play for the India Legends after Sachin Tendulkar — who is the brand ambassador for the tournament — offered him a chance to do so.
After a bright start to his career, including taking the wicket of Tendulkar in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game in 2011, he was plagued with a facial nerve dysfunction and injury problems, which hurt his future. Rahul played his last first-class and IPL game in 2014.
He also suffered a personal setback in 2021 when he lost his father to post-Covid complications. That’s when Sharma spoke to Tendulkar about his financial issues.
“I had been depressed for years after picking up multiple injuries at crucial junctures of my career. I trained and worked on my rehab at the National Cricket Academy. But chances never arrived easily. Tendulkar remembered how badly I wanted to play competitive cricket again and offered me this chance to play in the Road Safety World Series. I have decided to start my second innings with this league,” Sharma, 35, said.
Rahul played for Jalandhar in Punjab’s inter-district tournament last season, but young spinners Mayank Markande and Abhishek Sharma hogged the spotlight for the state team. He will finish his career with 22 first-class, 35 List A and 74 T20 matches in domestic cricket.
The second season of the Road Safety World Series is set to be played from September 10 to October 2 in Lucknow, Jodhpur, Cuttack and Hyderabad. It will feature a total of eight teams – India Legends, Australia Legends, Sri Lanka Legends, West Indies Legends, South Africa Legends, Bangladesh Legends, England Legends and New Zealand Legends.
