Indian opener Murali Vijay announced retiring from all forms of international cricket on Monday.
Vijay played 61 Tests, 17 ODIs, and nine T20Is while representing India in 87 international games in all forms. In Perth, Australia, in 2018, he made his final appearance for India.
Vijay established himself as one of India's most dependable openers during a nine-year international career. Vijay scored 3,982 runs in 61 Tests, including 12 hundreds and 15 half-centuries.
"Today, with immense gratitude & humility, I announce my retirement from all forms of International cricket. My journey from 2002-2018 has been the most wonderful years of my life for it was an honour representing India at the highest level of sport," he said in a statement.
"To all my teammates, coaches, mentors and support staff: It has been an absolute privilege to have played with you all, and, I thank you all for helping turn my dream into reality."
"I am excited to announce that I will be exploring new opportunities in the world of cricket & the business side of it, where I will also continue to participate in the sport that I love and challenge myself in new and different environments. I believe that this is the next step in my journey as a cricketer and I look forward to this new chapter in my life," he added.
"I wish all my former teammates and the Indian cricket team all the best for their future endeavours. Thank you for all the memories."
He had a strong partnership with Shikhar Dhawan between 2013 and 2018, and the two combined to score 1748 runs in 41 games at an average of 43.70.
They are now the third-most productive opening duo in Indian Test history, behind only Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (4412 runs) and Chetan Chauhan and Sunil Gavaskar (3010 runs).
Vijay's most notable performance in an international setting was his 145 and 52 at Trent Bridge helped India stave off England to earn a draw in July 2014. Later that same year, in December, in Brisbane, he backed that up with a 144 against Australia.