Paul Valthaty, who shot to fame with a blistering century for Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) in the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has announced his retirement from first-class cricket.A top-order batter, Valthaty featured in five first-class games for Himachal after shifting base from Mumbai, where he made his List A debut in 2006.
Despite making his presence felt in the IPL in 2011, he failed to prolong his career and did not find any takers after the 2013 edition. On Monday, he emailed his retirement note to the Mumbai Cricket Association, thanking the association for all the support. He also expressed his gratitude to Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals - two IPL franchises he was part of. Valthaty was part of India’s Under-19 squad to the 2002 World Cup, along with the likes of Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan, but he suffered a blow after an injury to his eye during the game against Bangladesh. He had to wait till 2006 to make it to the Mumbai team. He played a lone one-dayer in 2006, before earning an IPL contract for Rajasthan Royals in 2009.
