Abhishek Nayar finally put a full stop to his two-decade cricket journey in Mumbai yesterday, but it's not the end of the road for the all-weather man. On the cusp of reaching 100 first-class matches, the Powai resident will now play the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season for Puducherry.

"I had decided that I did not want to occupy the all-rounder's slot for long because I did not want to play for a state wherein there would be guys saying, 'Aare bhai, buddah hogaya, abhi tho chhod'," Nayar told mid-day yesterday. Nayar, 34, was dropped from Mumbai's Ranji squad in November last year after scoring 130 runs and picking eight wickets in five matches. He did not get a look-in again.