Former Indian international Piyush Chawla has called time on his cricketing career as he announced his retirement through an Instagram post on Friday. That brings curtains on the 20-year-long cricketing career which had started off with an ODI for India B against India Seniors in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in October 2005.

"From representing India at the highest level to being part of the victorious 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup squads, every moment in this incredible journey has been nothing short of a blessing. These memories will forever remain etched in my heart," Chawla wrote. "Though I step away from the crease, cricket will always live with me, I now look forward to embarking on a new journey, carrying the lessons and spirit of this beautiful game."

After representing India U19 at the age of 15, Chawla went to make his Test debut against England in Mohali in March 2006 before he turned 18, thereby becoming the second-youngest Indian player after Sachin Tendulkar to make his bow in the longest format. The leg-spinner, however, could play only three Test matches for the country and ended with a tally of seven wickets.

In the limited-overs setup, Chawla represented India in 25 ODIs and seven T20Is picking up 32 and four wickets, respectively and was also part of the Indian teams that won the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the ODI World Cup at home in 2011.

Chawla plied his trade for Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in the domestic circuit and has been a proven performer with a tally of 446 wickets to his name from 137 matches. He has been equally effective with the ball too, picking up a mammoth 573 wickets from 461 matches in the ODI and T20 format.

The leg-spinner had a long and successful stint in the Indian Premier League too playing 16 of the first 17 seasons before going unsold in the IPL 2025 mega auction. He bows out as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the franchise league with a total of 192 wickets from 192 matches, at an impressive economy of 7.96 and a strike rate of 20.00, with four franchises including with the KKR where he won his only title in 2014.

He last played for Mumbai Indians in the 2024 season picking up 13 wickets from 11 matches finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker for the side behind Jasprit Bumrah. He finished his playing career on a high with a Player of the Match-winning performance of 4/12 for Uttar Pradesh against Himachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in November 2024.