What After Cricket?

All good things come to an end. If you are an athlete, they just end quicker.

You have to start from a very young age, work hard, be exceptional at what you do, and if you are the best of the best, you can get a chance at the top level.

You succeed, you fail, you win, you lose and, even before you know, it is time. The eye slows a bit, the foot moves a touch late, the hands lose a tiny bit of their lightning speed and you are done. And we are talking milliseconds here. That is how little the margin of error is at the top level.

By the mid-30s, you know that the body would just not listen to you. It is time. You either move out of the way yourself or a talented youngster will just force you into the woods.

So, what happens then?

바카라�I had no idea what I바카라�m going to do,바카라� says Deep Dasgupta, a cricketer-turned-broadcaster, about his life right after calling time on his career. 바카라�I retired when I was 34-35. And I had no plans on what to do post-retirement.바카라�

Dasgupta represented India 13 times in 2001-02. He also has a Test century to his name. The wicket-keeper batter was a regular for Bengal in domestic cricket and achieved great success as the captain of the side in the mid-2000s.

Like so many other athletes, Dasgupta had to retire in his mid-30s. However, being a good cricketer in India helps, for the sport has popularity in this country like few other things have.

바카라�For cricketers, the good bit is that the ecosystem has grown as much as it has in the last few years. So, there are other opportunities, whether it바카라�s coaching, physio or as an analyst or in the media segment.바카라�

This widespread ecosystem helped Dasgupta become a regular in the Indian cricket commentary scene even though he was not very media-friendly in the beginning.

바카라�I never looked at the media because I바카라�ve always been a very introverted person,바카라� says Dasgupta. 바카라�I think it was in 2014 when the Champions League used to happen back then. I got a call from Star Sports saying, 바카라�You know, there is a 15-day gig. Do you want to give it a go?바카라�바카라�

Dasgupta gave it a go and is now relishing doing 바카라�the best job in the world바카라�.

Coaching is the most common thing retired cricketers do. They open academies, train young aspirants and some also do it at the top level. Commentating is the second-most common post-retirement career for big players. However, till about a decade and a half ago, the scope of cricket coverage was limited.

The one thing that worked in favour of Dasgupta was his command over English. If you were a top player and knew English, broadcasting was the way to go. For other languages, though, there was little space then.

That바카라�s why the legendary Sunil Gavaskar established himself as a big name in commentary circles soon after his retirement, but the screen presence of someone like Kapil Dev, an equally great cricketer, was limited to just advertisements.

That has changed. Cricket바카라�s focal point has shifted from England to India and that has meant broadcasters are forced to cater to the Indian audience in Indian languages. In fact, the needle has moved so far that during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the Australian media used Hindi and Punjabi in its coverage of the series.

This change has helped players who were fluent in their mother tongue, but kept a hand바카라�s distance from English. Manvinder Bisla is one such player-turned-commentator. 바카라�It is a big thing,바카라� says Bisla, who does commentary in Hindi, and now also in Haryanvi. Known for his match-winning innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012 final, which helped Kolkata Knight Riders win their maiden title, Bisla talked about how commentary in Indian languages has opened the doors of broadcasting to a large group of players who were good cricketers, but not big, household names.

바카라�Those who have not played that much cricket on the national level are not very senior cricketers, but if they can talk well, then regional (commentary) becomes really helpful. So earlier, we used to see only a small number of players (in commentary). Now a lot of them are getting the chance, especially the domestic players who earlier got very limited chance to do commentary.바카라�

The recently-concluded IPL 2025 was streamed in 12 different languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Haryanvi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, and Punjabi. More languages signify the need for more experts and that helps a lot of these ex-players who could not make it big for India, but were mainstays for their domestic sides.

바카라�Earlier, when players used to retire, they had limited options. You opt for coaching or become a match referee or umpire. But mostly it was about coaching only because most players do not get selected in the other two options. Now, because of regional-language commentary, you have a number of options as a domestic player,바카라� says Bisla.

These cricketer-turned-commentators are also gaining popularity on social media as their distinct regional flavour is resonating with the audiences. But Bisla also reminds that it is not just about the flavor, but also the in-depth perspectives that can be provided to a larger audience which wants to listen to cricket in their own language.

바카라�We have R. J. Kisna, whose background is different. There is Ravin Kundu, who is an emcee, so his thinking is distinct. Similarly, there is Vishwas, who has a background in Haryanvi comedy. Then we have cricketers바카라�Sumit Narwal who played with me; Sonu Sharma, who is my senior; Anil Chaudhary, who is an umpire and brings that perspective. Then I am there. I can share what I have learnt in my seven years of playing IPL. So, we are getting a lot of love and I believe people are enjoying it very much,바카라� adds Bisla.

Another pathway that has opened up for retired plSachin Tenduarayers is the plethora of 바카라�legends바카라� leagues. These are cricket tournaments where only players who have retired from the professional circuit play. To satiate Indian audiences바카라� hunger for cricket, many such tournaments have popped up in recent times.

Shikhar Dhawan, one of India바카라�s one-day international greats, retired last year, and days after that, he joined one such tournament. While the big names like Dhawan and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar become the major attraction, lesser-known players also get a relatively good pay day through these leagues.

Krishnakant Upadhyay, who played in IPL 2012-13, is a teammate of Dhawan in the ongoing Intercontinental Legends League. He appreciates how such tournaments have given players at the fag end of their careers a lot of clarity as to what they can do if they retire.

바카라�Legend leagues are a new platform for retired players and a very good one,바카라� says Upadhyay. 바카라�Earlier some players could be confused about whether they should retire or not, or what they would do after retiring. But now they can retire and play such tournaments. It is also a big help in financial terms,바카라� the right-arm pacer adds.

바카라�Of course it is nowhere close to the IPL, but still you get some money. Something is better than nothing, right? You can get between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 10 lakh depending on the league. So yes, it is monetarily rewarding, and helps us stay connected with something we love.바카라�

These leagues and the expansion of commentary languages have dramatically altered the post-retirement scene in cricket. At the same time, there are also players who choose totally different career paths after quitting the game.

바카라�Yes, there are people who do other things, obviously business and stuff like that. And you have people who are qualified academically, so they get into other stuff. There are also people who do 9-5 jobs as well,바카라� says Dasgupta, who advises young cricketers to lay emphasis on their education as that will help them with their post-cricket career. 바카라�Education is important as it helps you while you바카라�re playing the sport, but is also majorly useful post your retirement. Because the shelf life of a sportsperson is very short.바카라�

Another post-retirement career that is surfacing is retiring in one country to play cricket in another, mostly in the United States. The US cricket team has several players from different parts of the world who have migrated to the country and are now part of their national set-up.

The most famous of these names is Saurabh Netravalkar. The left-arm pacer was India바카라�s leading wicket-taker in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of K. L. Rahul, a current India regular. Netravalkar also broke into the star-studded Mumbai squad in the 2013-14 season, but after that he moved to America and focused on his academic career, he kept playing the game.

He rose to fame during last year바카라�s T20 World Cup when he delivered a stunning Super Over to help USA defeat Pakistan in one of the tournament바카라�s most remarkable upsets.

Similarly, there are many stories of decent players who have gone out of the Indian system and taken up a cricketing career in either the US or in the Gulf countries. This is an unfolding trend and one to keep an eye on with regards to post-retirement cricketing careers.