Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has announced his decision to step down from his first-class career on October 2, 2026, via an Instagram post. Chahal, who never made his Test debut for India, concluded his first-class career with 148 wickets in 49 matches.
Chahal has played a total of 72 ODIs and 80 T20s and bagged 121 and 96 wickets so far. With the star pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Chahal never came close to making his Test debut for India.
On October 2, 2026 Yuzvendra Chahal made his announcement of retirement from red-ball cricket via an Instagram post which reads, “For me, red-ball cricket was never just another format. It was where I learned the meaning of patience, character, resilience and the pure joy of being out there for hours, fighting for every run and every wicket.”
“I played my last First-Class match at Lord’s, saying these words is emotional, as a Test cap was always a dream, one that I carried with me for many years. It may not have happened, but I am genuinely content with the journey I have had and incredibly grateful for every opportunity that came my way in this format.”
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Chahal also confirmed that he will continue to serve India in white-ball cricket. However, his last white-ball appearance for India dates back to August 2023 in a T20I game against West Indies at Lauderhill. Since then, he has been sidelined from the Indian cricket team.
Despite being India’s highest-ever wicket-taker in T20Is, Chahal’s importance gradually reduced as the management’s planning of the team balance shifted to a new aspect. The requirement of scoring runs in the lower order and Kuldeep Yadav’s tweak in the bowling action pushed Chahal out of the contention.
Kuldeep reinvented his bowling action by increasing his pace through the air and sharpened his consistency, and became a key player in the line-up.
“I am not done yet. The hunger to play for my country is still very much alive. I believe I have the cricket left in me, and I will give everything I have to earn another opportunity in the One-Day and T20 formats”.
Chahal made his first-class career debut with Haryana in 2009 and continued to play 49 matches and bagged 148 wickets at an average of 32.27. In the 2026 County Championship, he played for Northamptonshire and bagged 21 wickets at 16.14 in Division Two.
Chahal made his final first-class appearance against Middlesex, who won by seven wickets and ended Northamptonshire’s hopes of moving further.
“A special thank you to the Haryana Cricket Association, Mr. Ranbir Singh Mahindra Sir and Mr. Anirudh Singh Chaudhary Sir for their continuous support, trust and belief throughout my journey.
“From a 10-year-old holding his first red ball to playing his final First-Class game, it has been one hell of a journey,” the post reads.
Without any further planned games, Yuzvendra Chahal will make his next appearance with ball in the upcoming IPL 2027. Chahal remains the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 233 wickets under his belt.
Currently, Chahal remains with the Punjab Kings and is expected to feature in the red and gold jersey.
