Former Indian batting star Virender Sehwag has confirmed his retirement from international cricket and the the IPL via Twitter on Tuesday.

A game-changer and one of cricket’s most entertaining batsmen ever, Sehwag hinted at retirement at the launch of Masters Champions League (MCL) in Dubai on Monday.

Sehwag is widely considered one of India’s greatest opening batsmen, and he revolutionised the art of batting against the new ball in Test cricket with his aggressive approach, scoring at a strike rate of over 80 in the longest format. He has been out of India’s plans for over two years, having last played for the national side in the Hyderabad Test against Australia in March 2013.

Sehwag played 104 Tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is, scoring over 17000 international runs and picking up 136 wickets with his offspin. His greatest moments came in Test cricket, where he made 23 hundreds including the only two triple-centuries by any Indian batsman, while his ODI achievements included the format’s second double-hundred. He was part of India’s victorious squads in the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup. – ESPNCricinfo

Picture: AFP