Cricketers who returned to play international cricket after retiring
Cricket has always known to be one unpredictable game where one can’t be sure of the result until the very last ball. While it does attract a lot of excitement from the fans worldwide for being so thrilling, sometimes people believe it is a matter of luck. Just like its unpredictable nature, players in the game have also shown the same nature time and long.
The history of cricket is lined up with famous names that have bowed out of the game but made a comeback due to some or the other reason. Let’s take a look at five such names.
5. Kevin Pietersen
England star Pietersen has aced the cricket field for a long time with his stunning action with the bat. The batsman holds the record of achieving the fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket from his national side. He also has 4400 ODI runs under his belt.
However, the Englishman announced in 2011 to quit the white-ball cricket in order to fare well in Test format, but his decision was reversed in a quick span of time. Only after a few months, he was selected in the side for ODIs and T20Is. Pietersen’s career came to an abrupt end after landing in many controversies.
4. Shahid Afridi
The Pakistan all-rounder has always been a support system for his team for a great period of time. Having scored more than 8000 runs in ODI format, his experience remained too precious for the team. However, the 40-year-old decided to quit the game on multiple occasions but came back again.
It started in 2006 for the first time when he announced a momentary retirement but walked on the field again in 2010 as a captain. He was called back again and again because of a lack of experience in the side. He repeated his actions in 2011 and was last seen in action in 2018 at the Lord’s.
3. Imran Khan
Known as the finest cricketer Pakistan has ever seen, Imran Khan served Pakistan cricket for 21 long years in the Test format and 18 years in ODI. The Men in Green never has to worry about anything till the time he was on the field. He announced retirement from cricket post-1987 World Cup.
He came back for his side, and it couldn’t have been stronger. He led his side to win their only World Cup in the year 1992, and it was the last time he was seen in action on the field.
2. Dwayne Bravo
The great Caribbean all-rounder announced retirement from all formats of cricket in 2018. After being away from ODI since 2014 and Test since 2010, he decided to end an international career.
However, he hinted at the end of 2019 that he is willing to make his international back and would also like to be part of the 2020 T20 WC squad. In January 2020, he featured in the T20I series against Ireland and was last seen in action against Sri Lanka in the T20I series in March 2020. He is currently playing for CSK in the ongoing IPL.
1. Javed Miandad
Miandad is supposedly the greatest batsman Pakistan has ever witnessed. Leading the national side on several occasions, he became the first cricketer in the world to feature in 6 World Cups (the other being Tendulkar). His heroics on the last ball against Indian in 1986 can never be forgotten by cricket fans.
The star player announced his retirement before the 1996 World Cup but was asked by then Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to be part of the upcoming WC. The batsman agreed, and his retirement only lasted ten days.
