The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw some dipping time for the three-times champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Even after a lot of changes in their planning, they kept struggling to keep their form and ultimately became the first team to get knocked out of the playoffs race. The form of several players also came under the scanner, and one of them was Australian great Shane Watson.
Watto played 11 games in the 2020 IPL edition and scored just 299 runs with an average of 29.90. The fact that he has already retired from international cricket gave a hint that he may end his T20 stint anytime soon. And on Sunday, Watson told his CSK teammates that he would now retire from all forms of cricket.
The 39-year-old reportedly made the announcement after CSK beat Kings XI Punjab in their last league game of IPL 2020. “Watson was very emotional when he told the CSK dressing room after the last game that he would retire. He said that it was a great privilege for him to play for the franchise,” TOI quoted a source as saying.
Watson has been a part of CSK from 2018, and he played a huge part in their title victory that year. The Aussie star was the ‘Player of the Match’ in the final of 2018 IPL edition where he smashed an unbeaten century against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He nearly did an encore in the 2019 final against Mumbai Indians (MI), but CSK fell one run short.
Nevertheless, Watson won multiple fans for playing through the pain of an injured knee during that game.
Overall, Watson will be remembered as one of the most successful all-rounders in IPL history. He scored 3874 runs and picked up 92 wickets in 145 matches, having played for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and CSK. He was also the ‘Player of the Tournament’ during RR’s triumph in the inaugural season in 2008.
Watson’s struggle in IPL this season and the arrival of young Ruturaj Gaikwad made it clear that the Aussie veteran wouldn’t be a part of CSK’s plans in the future.
