Shane Watson set to bid adieu to competitive cricket post Chennai's IPL exit

Top Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has decided to call time on his competitive cricket career after Chennai's exit from the Indian Premier League. While Watson has not made any official announcement, it has been learnt that after Chennai ended their IPL campaign on Sunday with a win over Punjab, the senior player told his teammates about the decision to retire from all forms of cricket. This season, he has scored 299 runs in 11 games.

The 39-year-old Watson is one of the few players to have won the IPL with two different teams. He was a star for Rajasthan during the inaugural edition (472 runs and 17 wickets) and in 2018, his century in the final post his international retirement won it for Chennai, who had just come back from a two-year ban. During the triumphant 2018 season, Watson amassed 555 runs and picked up six wickets.

A sought-after player in the T20 format, Watson has 3874 runs in 145 IPL games with four hundreds and 21 fifties. He also has 92 wickets. Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody paid a tribute on Twitter.

"The curtain closes on a remarkable @IPL career. Congratulations mate you've done yourself proud and made every team you've played in so complete," Moody tweeted.

In the final against Mumbai  last year, he nearly won it for his team despite batting with a bloodied knee. He has played 59 Tests, 190 ODIs and 58 T20Is at the international level.