Five legends who announced their retirement in 2021
So, the year 2021 is slowly meandering to an end. And, this year saw some legends of the game bid adieu to the sport. And surely, the sport will be left poorer because of the retirement of these icons. Let us take a look at the top 5 players who announced their retirement in 2021.
5. Dale Steyn
Pace bowling legend Dale Steyn called it quits from all forms of cricket this year. Steyn is arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers to have played for the South African side. The right-arm speedster is the most prolific pacer to have worn the whites for the Proteas in Test cricket.
While Steyn took a record 439 wickets in Tests, he scalped 196 wickets in ODIs. In T20Is, Steyn picked up 64 wickets.
4. Yusuf Pathan
Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan decided to bring the curtains down on his career in 2021. Pathan represented the Indian side in 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is. The belligerent right-hander scored 810 runs in ODI cricket, while he plundered 236 runs in the T20I format of the game. Pathan was a part of the Indian side that emerged triumphant in the 2007 T20 World Cup as well as 2011 fifty over World Cup.
3. Dwayne Bravo
West Indies colossus Dwayne Bravo retired from the international arena after the conclusion of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. The 38-year-old legend represented the West Indies in 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 91 T20Is. Apart from that, Bravo was also a part of the victorious West Indies squad that won two T20 World Cups in 2014 and 2016.
Bravo is the highest wicket-taker for the ‘Men in Maroon’ in the T20I format of the game, and scalped 78 wickets at an average of just 26.10.
2. Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga also walked away from the game in the year 2021. In a stellar career that spanned a decade and a half, Malinga featured in 30 Tests, 226 ODIs and 84 T20Is for Sri Lanka. While Malinga is the highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in T20Is and has picked up 107 wickets, the right-arm seamer has taken a whopping 338 wickets in ODIs.
In the Test arena, the bowling great picked up 101 wickets. Malinga was also a part of the Sri Lankan side that won the 2014 T20 World Cup as well.
1. AB de Villiers
This was the most high-profile retirement of the year. South African legend AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2021. ‘ABD’, as he is fondly called, had last played for South Africa in 2018, but had continued to represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side in the IPL.
And, the legendary batter announced in November 2021 that he has decided to retire from every form of the game. AB de Villiers is the second-highest run-scorer for South Africa in ODIs, and scored 9577 runs in his career. In Tests, the right-hander amassed 8765 runs. In the T20I format, the batting gladiator plundered 1672 runs.
