Bengal offspinner Saurasish Lahiri retires from all cricket

Bengal offspinner Saurasish Lahiri announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, ending a career that lasted nearly 16 seasons.

Lahiri, who made his debut in January 2000, ended his career with 256 wickets in 100 first-class matches, and 93 wickets in List A and Twenty20 cricket. The 34-year-old did not feature in a single game for Bengal during the 2015-16 season and had seemingly slipped down in the pecking order in the side after left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was signed as a professional ahead of the season.

While Lahiri admitted his exclusion was disappointing, he was also nostalgic as he reflected on his career in the company of former team-mates Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary and Laxmi Ratan Shukla at a press conference at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"Cricket has been my only passion since my childhood. I am happy that I have played for Bengal all these years," Lahiri said. "Yes, initially it was disappointing being dropped, but I have no regrets. I am really overwhelmed by the way they [Cricket Association of Bengal] have stood by me. I could not have asked for more."

Lahiri first shot into prominence in 2001-02, when he took 42 wickets in the season and helped Bengal qualify for the Ranji Trophy semi-final. He bettered that in 2005-06, when he picked up 49 wickets and led Bengal's march to the Ranji Trophy final, which they lost to Uttar Pradesh.

Bengal qualified for the Ranji Trophy final again in 2006-07, a season which gave Lahiri his most-cherished moment. He dismissed Sachin Tendulkar for 105 and 43 in both innings of the final at Wankhede Stadium. Bengal, however, lost the match by 132 runs. "That was the greatest moment," he said. "Both the dismissals happened when I was in the zone and I could not have asked for more."

Lahiri struggled with injuries at various stages of his career but remained Bengal's go-to bowler, particularly on turning tracks.

"Saurasish has been a wonderful cricketer for Bengal for more than a decade and a half," Ganguly, the CAB president, said. "His contribution to Bengal cricket has been immense and I wish him the very best for the life ahead."

In 2013-14, Lahiri's match haul of 10 for 95 against Tamil Nadu, which included a career-best 7 for 62 in the second innings, spun Bengal to a thrilling four-run victory, and steered them into the quarter-finals. In his last first-class game, in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, Lahiri and Wriddhiman Saha played out 53.5 overs and added 90 runs for the eighth wicket to help Bengal avoid defeat against Madhya Pradesh and a possible relegation to Group C.

Lahiri's last List A game was the 2014-15 Deodhar Trophy final, where he was part of an East Zone side that beat West Zone to record their first limited-overs title since 2003-04.