https://twitter
com/UmairShahidK/status/833563281767931904 https://twitter
com/absycric/status/833526353253117954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw However, what it does do is give me the opportunity to analyse the retirement process in international cricket and how different teams go about it
Let’s start with our favourite (not): India: They don’t retire
Not easily at least
Some continue to play until they break a particular record, others until they are sure of landing the Indian Premier League (IPL) contract or a commentary deal, while the rest take partial retirements in bits and pieces
However, the good thing is that there are so many formats of the game now that they can easily manipulate their retirement
So when is the next possible retirement for them? Well, not in the next two to three years at least
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: AFP[/caption] Pakistan: While only a handful of Indian cricketers have retired in the last five years, Afridi alone has retired thrice and is still playing
Between Afridi, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, the total number of retirements have been around a dozen and interestingly enough, until a week ago, two of them were still international cricketers
The only decent retirement since that of Imran Khan was by Shoaib Akhtar
Even Azhar Mahmood has still not retired
Did Saqlain Mushtaq retire? Imran Farhat? I think even Ramiz Raja has not retired
I’m not sure
The retirement that was expected 10 years ago is still the current captain of our Test team
No complains there though
Who will be taking the next possible retirement? Will it be real or just a protest? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: AFP[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Reuters[/caption] : They have a genuine reason for not retiring
They debut at the age when other countries’ cricketers are contemplating retiring
There are always people like Shaun Tait here and there but generally, they are as sticky as Ricky Ponting and Brad Hodge
Who will be the next one to retire? Probably Steven Smith - 10 years from now
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Reuters[/caption] New Zealand: They like taking retirement
They like it so much that they make up for other teams not taking it
Some of the Kiwi players have even been reported to retire before their debuts
It’s a general belief in New Zealand that Daniel Vettori used to play alone while all other players retired around him
Roger Twose and Geoff Allott went Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and people later found out that they had retired
What will be the next possible retirement for the team? Ten of the current players before 2018
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Espncricinfo[/caption] Sri Lanka: They are quite similar in behaviour to India but they are generally nice people, which make them bearable
They don’t retire before they secure a place in parliament
One of the major reasons is that they know that they will become captains after the age of 30, hence they just wait around for it to happen
Sanath Jayasuriya was asked to sign his retirement papers on gun point, otherwise he would have continued to play till he was 60
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara did not retire for a long time, thinking that the other person will retire first
So who is next in line to a possible retirement? Well, whoever gets assurance of the election tickets! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Reuters[/caption] West Indies: They don’t retire
They take the board head on
They go on to play unbelievably breath-taking innings in the IPL, earn more money, watch national games from the crowd, and show the middle finger to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)
They are cool as a cucumber
They win world cups and tell the whole world that their board does not support them
They ask reporters out for coffee during interviews, make songs and chants and dance moves
They are the real alpha males
The real tussle is who will retire first, the cricketers or the board
Who is taking the next possible retirement? WICB! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: AFP[/caption] They generally have a sensible approach towards retirement
They usually take logical reasons like form, age and physical fitness into consideration when thinking about retiring
The only issue is that they end up writing books after retiring and start blaming their colleagues for making ‘cliques’ in the team
Who will be the next possible cricketer to retire? Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is approaching his, I think
Or has he already retired? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Espncricinfo[/caption] England: They also have issues with the board at times but they take it in a British manner, unlike the West Indians
They solve those issues over a cuppa, and as a result, some of these issues are resolved and some are not
The unresolved issues are passed on to Piers Morgan
Who will be taking the next possible retirement? Maybe Captain Alastair Cook, or will it be Jimmy ‘grumpy’ Anderson? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Reuters[/caption] While cricketers have their fair share of issues when it comes to retirement, the least we can do is ask some of the commentators to retire
At least we get to reduce noise pollution!
| Date: | 26-Feb-2017 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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