Cricketer Trisha Chetty announces retirement

A recurring back problem forced South African wicketkeeper-batter Trisha Chetty to announce her retirement from professional cricket.

After making her international debut in 2007, the 34-year-old played 134 ODIs, 82 T20Is, and two Tests, finishing with close to 4,000 runs. Chetty was the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals in women’s ODIs with 184, while she also finished with 70 in T20Is with 70 dismissals.

“I can still remember the incredible feeling I had back in 2007 as I walked over the boundary rope, dressed in green and gold for the first time. For the past 16 years, it has been a privilege to represent my country and play for the Proteas, and that feeling has never gone away – each time I pulled on my South African kit I felt honoured to be doing so,” Chetty said in a statement released by CSA on Friday (March 17).

“But now, due to a recurring back injury for the past 5 years, the time has come for me to hang up my boots and let the gloves catch dust. I have tried everything to keep playing and have pushed as hard as I can but my body is signalling that it has no more to give and it is time to retire from all forms of cricket.

“This was not an easy decision for me, and even now, I can’t quite believe my career is over. However, my cricket career has been a life-changing experience and I look back with no regrets and a full heart…Cricket has taught me about life, being disciplined, what it means to be professional and how to be a team player. For this, I will always be grateful. And I choose to continue to be grateful for cricket as I retire and transition into the next chapter of my life,” she said.