Siddarth Kaul has made the decision to hang up his boots from Indian cricket. The Punjab fast bowler who played three ODIs and as many T20Is for India is open to playing overseas leagues if the opportunities arise.
He took to Instagram to make the announcement where he posted a video of his entire cricketing journey and put out a heartfelt message.
Kaul made his T20I debut in Ireland in June 2018 before making his ODI debut a month later in England. He was also a part of India’s Asia Cup-winning team in 2018. He played just one game in that tournament. His last international fixture came in February 2019 when India played Australia in a T20I in Bengaluru.
The Punjab-born pacer couldn’t pick any wickets in the 50-over format but he took four scalps in T20Is. Kaul was a part of the Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2008 which was led by Virat Kohli. He returned with 10 wickets in five games at an economy of 4.27 in that victorious tournament.
Kaul was a part of Punjab’s squad which won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season (2023-24). He picked up 16 wickets in 10 matches (most for Punjab in that competition). Moreover, he was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year – 19 wickets in six games.
His last appearance for Punjab came earlier this month during their Ranji Trophy fixture against Haryana. He played just two matches this season and went wicketless both times.
Apart from that, Kaul also played three games in the County Championship Division 2 for Northamptonshire. He ended up with 13 wickets at an average of 29.84.
Kaul’s IPL journey
In the IPL, he featured in 55 matches while representing three franchises. His maiden stint came with Delhi Capitals back in 2013 and 2014 where he played 11 games in the two seasons combined. He took just six wickets.
However, Kaul’s best came when he moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2017. He played there for two years and returned with 37 wickets in 27 games. He was a vital cog in SRH’s run to the final in 2018. Post that, his returns fell off.
He was a part of the SRH side in 2020 and 2021 but he took eight wickets in nine games. In 2022, he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) but he played just one game.
Kaul wants to pursue opportunities outside India
Kaul added that he has about three or four years of cricket left in him. However, he wanted to bow out on a high. Hence, he is open to playing in leagues outside India.
“I feel I still have 3-4 years of cricket left in me, but I wanted to go out on a high, when I was at peak fitness and performing well rather than being asked to go due to fitness or non-performance at some other point. If you see my graph over the past 9-10 years, I’ve been performing really well across formats. So, I felt this was a good time to go. Hopefully going forward, whatever opportunities arise, like in county cricket [he represented Northamptonshire in three Division 2 Championship games this summer, picking up 13 wickets at 29.84], or Legends League, MLC etc, I’d like to explore them if I get the chance,” Kaul was quoted saying to EPSNCricinfo.
