Former India A Captain With More Than 8000 First-Class Runs Retires

Former India A captain and Gujarat batter Priyank Panchal announced his retirement from First-Class cricket on May 26 (Monday), saying that it was a privilege to toil hard for nearly two decades in search of the dream of finally getting the India cap, which he unfortunately was not able to. 

Panchal, 35, made his first-class debut on November 3, 2008, during a Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra. Between 2008 and 2025, Panchal played 127 First-Class games, representing Gujarat in 99 games, India A in 17 and the Rest of India in 1 match. He played 10 matches in the Duleep Trophy for various teams. 

Panchal thanked his late father for inspiring him, his sister and mother for always backing him, and his wife for standing by him. Lastly, the Ahmedabad-born man thanked his fans for standing by him.

The right-handed batter played a crucial part in Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy-winning campaign during the 2016-17 season. It was the team’s first and till now only win in India’s premier First-Class competition. Panchal scored 1310 runs and topped the run-scoring charts that season. 

Panchal finished with 8856 First-Class runs in his bag with 29 centuries and 34 fifties. Before quitting first-class cricket, Panchal was anyway not part of the white-ball scheme of things for Gujarat.