Five players who may retire before the 2022 T20 World Cup
Australia emerged as the champions of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup, defeating New Zealand in the summit clash of the competition with 8 wickets to spare. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already announced that the 2022 T20 World Cup will take place in Australia, and will commence on 16th October 2022.
The summit clash of the tournament will be played on 13th November 2022. And, there are some players who might retire before the 2022 T20 World Cup. In this article, let us take a look at 5 such players.
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed
Pakistan cricketer Sarfaraz Ahmed might not continue to play on till the next edition of the T20 World Cup. Mohammad Rizwan has already cemented his spot as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in the Pakistan side, and it is unlikely that Sarfaraz might make a comeback to the Pakistan side at the age of 34. He might announce his retirement from T20I cricket before the 2022 T20 World Cup.
4. Kevin O’Brien
Ireland batting legend Kevin O’Brien is the next name on the list. The right-hander has represented Ireland in 109 T20Is and has scored 1973 runs in his career. But then, age is catching up with him, and the 37-year-old might hang up his boots before the next T20 World Cup. Kevin O’Brien has already retired from ODI cricket and might follow suit in T20Is as well.
3. Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle seemingly retired after West Indies’ last match of the Super 12 stages of the 2021 T20 World Cup against Australia. But then, the batting legend stated that he wants a farewell match in Jamaica. So, Gayle might not be done just yet. The 42-year-old also added that even though he wants to play the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, he might not be allowed to do so. Hence, he might walk away from the game soon.
2. Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik has been on the road in international cricket for more than two decades. The 39-year-old veteran has featured in 122 T20I matches for Pakistan and has plundered 2435 runs in his career at an average of 31.62.
Malik was in decent form in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup, and averaged 50.00 with the willow, scoring his runs at a tremendous strike rate of 181.82. However, Malik might still pull the curtains down on his career before the 2022 T20 World Cup.
1. Mohammad Hafeez
Mohammad Hafeez is already 41 years old, and might not last till the 2022 T20 World Cup. Hafeez is a legend of Pakistan cricket in T20Is and has represented the ‘Men in Green’ in a whopping 119 matches in the shortest format.
The right-hander has scored 2514 runs with the willow and has scalped 61 wickets in T20I cricket as well. In fact, Hafeez is the highest run-scorer for Pakistan in T20I cricket. But then, time is running out for him, and the legend might call time on his career in the near future.
