Independent 99 Exch guide
Cricket Today, 24 August Live Scores and Report - 99Exch
Published 24 August 2026
What happened
Karn Sharma is done. At 38, the leg-spinner has stepped away from every format, ending a career that ran more than two decades and delivered four IPL titles along the way. For India he managed one Test, two ODIs and one T20I, four international appearances that never quite became a settled run at the top level. His domestic numbers weigh more: 97 First-Class matches and over 90 IPL games. Proud of all of it, he said, and keen to give back. Those scoreboards he leaves behind keep turning, and 99Exch is where readers can keep an eye on them.
How the day unfolded
Elsewhere the cricket carried on. In the India tour of Sri Lanka, the hosts had reached 300 for 5 while India were still to bat. A contrast came from the Duleep Trophy: North Zone were bowled out for 251, and West Zone had slipped to 31 for 2. Down south, Trichy Grand Cholas sat at 49 for 1 in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, with Madurai Panthers yet to take strike, and a separate fixture between the Hobart Hurricanes Academy and Nepal had not begun. Rinku Singh spoke fondly of the veteran. Sharma fought back tears. On the selection front, Ajinkya Rahane asked Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill to give an under-fire India player a longer rope, backing him to deliver in time. Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, told debutant Saransh Jain to enjoy the moment and treat his first India outing like another First-Class match. Each of those boards refreshes on 99Exch through the day.
What it means next
What stands out is the rarity of it. Sharma retires as the only cricketer to win a hat-trick of IPL trophies with three different sides — CSK, SRH and Mumbai Indians — a record built on being useful enough to keep finding a place. He wants to give back to the game, and that intent, more than any single number, may shape whatever he does next. Jadeja's counsel to Saransh Jain, and Rahane's plea to back a struggling player, both point to a dressing room thinking about who comes next rather than who is leaving. At 38 he leaves proud. As those changes play out across formats, 99Exch stays the place to check where each match stands.