Retirements Thread - R. Ashwin

[SaiSrini]

What health issue made him give up on wicketkeeping? Other than him claiming to be tired I see no serious health issues highlighted in the link you shared, perhaps I miss it?

I can agree with you on him stepping down rather than being burden (which I think he was).

A player of his credentials would lose out if he took up a county contract, would he? It just seems hypocritical that he seems comitted to leagues like the IPL instead of staying on with the test team a couple years longer, SA clearly lacking test batsmen, even though he seems a burden on the team he proved otherwise against the Aussies/Indians in the last few tests. Should have played test cricket a bit more, seems to me he is more tired of playing for his country more than anything.

At this point of time, it makes sense for ABD to play T20 leagues than to be playing the "I pick what games I play for SA" thing. With T20 leagues, it does not matter if he plays a league or not, or if he misses some games in a league or not. But if ABD does that with SA, it creates uncertainty and instability and if he's not up for it, he needs to leave which is what he has done.

And please - I have barked this tree a million times in this forum. This whole fantasy of "playing for your country" is very smartly engrained into the audience minds by ICC and its member boards, for commercial purposes. You are certainly NOT representing your country if you play for CSA (Cricket South Africa) or BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), etc. Most of these boards are not even affiliated with their respective governments (I know for a fact that BCCI is not). And a player selecting what he/she wants to do in their career is totally their personal choice. Any country will have adequate resources to keep the show going. How much time you spend in finding and grooming that resource is up to the skill of your respective cricket board. Why do you think players leave aside cricket games to be with their wives when they are expecting a child birth? Because personal lives come ahead (this is why I did not concur with MS Dhoni, who just further romanticized the commercial concept of "playing for India is more important than being by your wife's side when she is giving birth to your child").

 

[Chief]

Can't remember if I've posted this before, but even if I have it's worth a re-run given the announcement.

We photographed Alistair Cook for some publicity shots when he had just been announced as the new England captain.
We needed one of him holding a ball and one of the coaches there said "What are you snapping him with a ball for? He doesn't bowl!"
Cook smiled at him and dryly quipped "I'm the captain now... I can have a bowl if I fancy."

I liked him a lot.

NB: He was definitely joking, but hey: as chance would have it he DID have a bowl and took himself a test wicket a few years later!

 

[Ahmad94]

"What are you snapping him with a ball for? He doesn't bowl!"
Cook smiled at him and dryly quipped "I'm the captain now... I can have a bowl if I fancy."ater!

He is likely to finish with a bowling average of 7. That is better than any other bowler I know.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

What is more sad to Cook's retirement is that he is just 33 years. Social media and fan pressure can be crazy in this day and age he would have easily played atleast 3-4 more years seeing he plays only test matches. Heck even Vijay is older compared to Cook.

 

[RichieBGM]

The Chef is hanging up his cap. What an innings mate. From the first innings I saw you in OZ I knew you were destined for great things. You did not let any of us down. Good luck in retirement and enjoy life on the farm.

 

[Velocity]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25050206/rangana-herath-retire-first-england-test

Rangana Herath retiring after the first test versus England. What a career he's had, and how unlucky he was over the course of it. Was unable to play at the expense of Murali at the beginning of his career, and he played excellently after he retired. I admired his patience and how he always took his time to be able to get wickets. Had he played more in Murali's time, he would have been up there in the top 5 all time list for most wickets. Sri Lanka will surely miss him. Congrats on a great career!

 

[asprin]

Add Praveen Kumar to the list too.

 

[Targaryen]

Dwayne Bravo retires from international cricket

Click here to view more : http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/104728/dwayne-bravo-retires-from-international-cricket-windies

 

[asprin]

espncricinfo is yet to publish that. Wonder what's stopping them.

 

[VC the slogger]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_...tsman-rajin-saleh-retires-first-class-cricket

One of the few Bangladesh batsmen to show actual grit at Test level back when teams used to thrash them for fun, though his stats don't quite reflect it. Discarded a bit too early in my opinion.

 

[asprin]

Gautham Gambhir retires from all cricket.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25450642/gautam-gambhir-retires-all-cricket

Mohammad Hafeez to follow suit (Test format)

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_...st-cricket-ongoing-abu-dhabi-game-new-zealand

 

[Mijurkat]

Sad day for @Ashutosh. , Gauti can enjoy cricket now.

 

[GOKUL RAJ K]

Very sad that a Legend is retiring

 

[Ashutosh.]

Every cricketer retires one day and today, Gauti retired. But I didn't think that this day would come very soon. He played very well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and he continued his form in the Ranji Trophy too. He shouldn't have done that.

Tomorrow, in school, my friends will tease me by saying that an old man retired.

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Another good cricketer calls it a day and has hung his boots.. Someone who takes his cricket real seriously , also mentioned by his team mate and partner for a long time Viru.. Wishing him all the best for whatever his future beholds..