New Delhi: Former India opener Vikram Rathore announced his retirement from first-class cricket on Wednesday.

Rathore, who scored 11,473 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 49.66, has decided to move to England where he will set up his family agriculture hand tool business.

“I have no regrets. I only wish I had a more successful international career. However, I tried my best,” Rathore said.

A right-handed opening batsman, Rathore played six Tests scoring 131 runs, 44 being his highest. He also played in seven ODIs, compiling 193 with average of 27.57.

Rathore, who captained both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, made his Test debut in England in 1996 under Mohammed Azharuddin, the series which also launched the careers of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

But poor technique combined with self-doubt led to his failure, admitted the genial man.

Later, Rathore came close to making a comeback in the ODI squad as a wicketkeeper batsman.

“I kept wickets for Punjab in the early days. When I got feelers from the Indian team, I began to keep wickets once again for my state side. But nothing came out of that.”

The highpoint of Rathore’s career came in 1992-93, when he led Punjab to the Ranji Trophy title.

Assessing himself, he said: “I don’t think I was a special cricketer. I was a traditional, average cricketer who worked hard.”