India’s left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana has confirmed her retirement from all cricket, closing a chapter that began with her international debut back in 2008. Between then and her final India appearance in April 2014, she turned out in 50 ODIs and 37 T20Is. A decade later she resurfaced in the Women’s Premier League, signing for UP Warriorz in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“To have represented India at the highest level – in World Cups, tours and battles that tested both skill and spirit – has been the greatest honour of my life,” she wrote on Instagram. “Every wicket taken, every dive in the field, every huddle with my teammates has shaped the cricketer and the person I am today.”
The numbers are tidy. Sultana collected 66 ODI wickets at 19.39 – only two India bowlers with 50-plus scalps better that average. She featured in two ODI World Cups (2009, 2013) taking 12 wickets across 11 matches, and three T20 World Cups (2009-14) where she managed seven wickets at 5.81 runs an over. Those returns may not leap off the page, yet they came in a side still finding its feet on the global stage.
Her WPL stint was low-key: four matches, six overs, no wickets. Even so, the league’s profile put her back under the spotlight at 36 and, by her own admission, kept the fire burning a little longer. “There were times when I thought of quitting – seasons I didn’t do well, my mental health was affected,” she told ESPNcricinfo before the 2024 tournament. “But then even when I was about to give up, I was like, ‘No, this shouldn’t be the end. I want to end it the way I want it.’ It was not to prove anything to anybody, but I enjoyed playing and I still enjoy playing. That’s the primary reason I am still here.”
Away from the middle Sultana has already qualified as a BCCI Level-2 coach, a pathway many expect her to pursue. Whether she moves straight into domestic coaching or opts for a breather first, her know-how – especially on slow, abrasive pitches – should be valuable to India’s next crop of spinners.
At 37 she bows out without fanfare, just a straightforward sign-off and a glance back at what was, for a spell, a quietly influential career.
