Indian women's batter Vanitha VR, on Monday (February 21), announced her retirement from all forms of the game at the age of 31. However, she said that her retirement from the game is "not the end, but the beginning of a new challenge."

On Monday, Vanitha announced her retirement from all forms of the game via a Twitter post. She thanked her Indian teammates Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj for supporting her.

Apart from thanking the two state associations — Karnataka and Bengal — that she represented in domestic cricket, she also thanked her family members, friends, mentor, and other teammates who were part of her journey in the game.

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Notably, the batter made her India debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2014, and she went on to represent the country in 6 ODIs and 16 T20Is between 2014 and 2016.

Vanitha wrote on Twitter: “19 years ago, when I started playing, I was just a little girl who loved sport. Even to this day, my love for cricket remains the same. What's changing is direction. My heart says continue playing, my body says stop and I have decided to listen to the latter. Time is ripe to hang my boots.”

He added, “I hereby announce my retirement from all forms of cricket. It's been a journey of struggles, joy, heartbreak, learning, and personal milestones. While there are a few regrets, I'm grateful for the opportunities I got, especially to represent India.”

Notably, Vanitha guided Bengal to the semi-finals of the Women's Senior One-Day Trophy during the 2021-22 domestic season.

(With PTI Inputs)