Kerala's V.A. Jagadeesh calls it quits

V.A. Jagadeesh, who played 72 first- class matches after making his debut in 2004, called it quits after the team’s loss in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha at the Wayanad Cricket Stadium.

V.A. Jagadeesh has featured in 72 first-class matches.

One of the longest innings in Kerala cricket has come to an end. V.A. Jagadeesh, who played 72 first- class matches after making his debut in 2004, called it quits after the team’s loss in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha at the Wayanad Cricket Stadium.

The opener, however, didn’t play in that match. The last time he played for the state was in the league match against Himachal Pradesh.

He batted only once in the match which Kerala won in dramatic fashion to book its quarterfinal berth. But now, the 35-year-old feels, this is the time to go.

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With 3,548 runs, he is the fourth highest scorer in first-class cricket for Kerala, behind Rohan Prem (4,674), Sreekumar Nair (3,921) and Sunil Oasis (3,906).

“I have been playing for Kerala for the last 15 years, and I wanted to go out while I was still in form,” Jagadeesh told Sportstar . “Now there are youngsters to take Kerala cricket forward.”

He is glad that he could be part of the Kerala team which reached the Ranji semifinal for the first time. “That was something I could not achieve with the previous Kerala sides,” he said. “I am also happy that I could make contributions to the team in my last season.”

He was making a comeback after a year. He made it count too, scoring an unbeaten 113 against Hyderabad at Thiruvananthapuram at the beginning of the season.

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“I could also do quite well in the one-dayers for Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” said Jagadeesh, who has played for India-A in the past. “Helping the team win the Ranji match against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with my innings lower down the order was also special.”

He has been opener most of his career though. He has easily been one of the finest openers Kerala has produced, with his technique and temperament.

He said he would continue to play club cricket. “Some people close to me wanted me to play on for Kerala for another couple of seasons,” he said. “But I had made up mind and discussed it with the team management too. They could understand my point.”