MUMBAI: Paul Valthaty, whose name will always remain etched in the minds of those who's seen his blazing 63-ball 120 not out for Punjab Kings against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the 2011 IPL at Mohali, announced his retirement from First-Class cricket on Monday.
In an e-mail (TOI has a copy) to the Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Ajinkya Naik, Valthaty wrote: "I'm writing to formally announce my retirement from First-Class Cricket. I was extremely lucky and proud to have represented many teams in my career from India Blue in the Challenger trophy, India U-19 and the Mumbai senior team and all age group teams I would take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and the MCA who have always been supportive to me and many such cricketers like me."
Valtathy, 39, holds the distinction of the first Mumbai batsman to score a century in the IPL. He played 5 FC matches for Mumbai, in which he scored 120 runs@20.00, besides taking a wicket. In 5 List A games, he scored 74 runs and took a wicket. In 34 T20 games, he scored 778 runs@23.57, with one hundred and three fifties, and took 11 wickets.
"I would also like to thank the IPL and both my teams Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings who I had the good fortune of representing and was the first player from Mumbai and the 4th Indian to score a century in the IPL. In conclusion I would like to say that I'm only proud and grateful today to have played our great Sport and would always love to contribute towards the development of the game and young budding cricketers," he wrote.
After his heroic knock, Valthaty was in the race to be picked for India, but a wrist injury after that 2011 IPL season derailed his plans for an India cap. "I couldn't represent the country. Unfortunately in 2011, after the IPL, I again had my share of injuries. This time, a wrist injury meant that I couldn't grip the bat for almost the entire season after the IPL. I had it operated upon post the 2012 IPL in London," he rued in an interview to TOI last year.
Even though the India cap eluded him, Valthaty is not a man of regrets. "Every cricketer wants to play for the country. I'm no different. But as I said earlier, I could at least have a career and I ended up playing a lot more of professional cricket despite the eye injury. Obviously, only a handful of our cricketers have played for the country, but I feel there are millions who would want to be in my shoes and achieve whatever I could. I'm extremely happy and proud of my career," he had said.
Talking about his match-winning knock which catapulted him into stardom, Valtathy had said that it "was a reward from God for hanging on to my dreams."
"Obviously, the 120 not out was the most celebrated moment of my career. I look at it this way that after all the troubles I went through with my eye injury, which happened when I was playing for the India in a 2002 Under-19 World Cup game against Bangladesh - a ball went through the gap of my helmet - it was a reward that God gave me for hanging on to my dreams and believing in myself despite all the vision problems I had after the injury, which I still have and will stay with me forever. I had to undergo and forego a lot to compete at a level which I wanted to and I'm extremely happy and a proud man that I could do it in the biggest tournament in the world - the IPL," Valthaty tells TOI.
The eye injury dogged the early part of Valthaty's career. "I had to undergo four-five laser surgeries. The retina in my right eye was completely ruptured. The doctor, with great level of expertise, managed to repair it as far as possible. I had to change my batting completely in a way at the tender age of 17," he reveals. "I played the IPL, Ranji Trophy and in the 2011 Challenger Trophy. So the eye injury didn't stop me from having a career in cricket. Hence, all of this makes me proud of myself," he had asserted.
After his heroic knock, Valthaty was in the race to be picked for India, but a wrist injury after that IPL season derailed his plans for an India cap.
