Laxmi Ratan Shukla announces retirement

Two days after he was named in the Bengal squad, former captain and all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla on Wednesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

“For last one month, I was not getting the right motivation... Not feeling myself, the link was missing,” the Bengal player said in a news conference.

“Mentally, I was not ready to play again. I started having this feeling for about a month and was not able to sleep properly. Now I can sleep peacefully.”

Shukla, however said he would be available for his club if Bagan feel his “service is needed.”

Shukla said he had decided two days’ ago as he also circulated a copy of his letter to Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly.

The all-rounder, who had played three ODIs for India scoring 18 runs and picking up a wicket, was named Sunday in Bengal’s 16-member squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

The announcement came on the eve of Bengal’s departure for their group A league matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali domestic Twenty20 tournament.

Shukla, who played 137 first-class matches and scored 6217 at an average of 36.93 including nine centuries and 37 fifties, however denied that he was forced to call it quits and termed it a personal decision.