Former India all-rounder Dinesh Mongia, member of the Indian team, which finished runner-up in the 2003 World Cup, on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of game. Mongia’s last appearance on the field was in 2007 for Punjab before he joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and was subsequently banned by the Board.
The punishment for playing the ICL left Mongia without any official connection with the game and he was lost to cricket. Most players banned by the Board for their association with the ICL were granted amnesty but Mongia remained the lone cricketer who was kept out of the official circuit.
“Those were hard days,” recalled Mongia, who took up coaching assignments to stay in touch with the game. Last season, he was made a state selector by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). It was considered “amnesty” by Mongia, who wants to take up coaching assignments now.
From his under-19 debut for Punjab in October 1995, Mongia made rapid progress to earn a first-class debut in February 1996. Six years of consistent scoring pushed him into the Indian team for a debut against Australia in 2001 at Pune. He ended with an aggregate of 57 ODIs but never played a Test. His first-class record of 121 matches included 21 centuries.
Mongia also played for Lancashire and Leicestershire.
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