Took AB de Villiers' wicket in IPL 2016 final, former SRH cricketer quits domestic cricket to play for USA

SportsTak

Bipul Sharma, who guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League (IPL) glory in 2016, has announced his retirement from domestic cricket.

He took the key wicket of AB De Villiers which turned the needle in SRH’s favour in the final match against Royal Challengers Bangalore as they were defending a huge total of 208. 

 

The Punjab based cricketer Bipul took 84 wickets and scored 1203 runs in 105 domestic T20 matches.

He also scalped 17 wickets in 33 IPL matches and scored 187 runs at a sensational strike rate of 152.03 including an unbeaten knock of 35.

 

One of the talented cricketers in the domestic circuit has also announced his future plans to play for USA and will now ply his trade there.

 

Bipul started his career in a List-A match in 2004. He has 3012 runs and 126 wickets in 59 first-class matches. He has 1620 List-A runs and 96 wickets plus 1203 runs and 84 wickets in domestic T20s. 

 

After 14 Ranji Trophy games for Punjab without a hundred or a five-for - from his debut in 2005 - Bipul made the switch to Himachal Pradesh in 2013 and immediately tasted success. He scored an unbeaten century on debut and followed it up with four fifty-plus scores in his next five games for his new team. Bipul had signed up for the ICL in 2007 but his major assignment came when he was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in 2010. 

 

Despite not being a regular in the side, he was often employed by Adam Gilchrist to carry out the holding role during the middle overs. Bipul was not included in Kings XI's squad for the 2014 season, but got a lucky break when he was chosen by Sunrisers Hyderabad to replace the ill Laxmi Shukla for the 2015 season. He played four matches for Sunrisers, scored one run and picked up three wickets but was retained ahead of the 2016 auction. Overall, he scored 83 runs and picked nine wickets in 18 matches he played for Hyderabad franchise.

 

Earlier this year, India's 2012 Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand had also left Indian cricket at the age of 28.

 

Chand has signed up with the Silicon Valley Strikers for the 2021 season of the Minor League Cricket, a national T20 competition in the United States.

He has also signed on to play the Big Bash League 2021-2022 season for the Melbourne Renegades.