A cricketer has a limited time period to play the game and he has to make the most out of it, once a cricketer crosses the age of 32-35 years, selectors stop considering him for selection in the team. While some cricketers keep on trying their luck by playing domestic cricket, there are few who choose to shift their focus on other jobs but all of them have to officially declare their retirement.
Only 3 months have passed in 2023 and 6 cricketers have already taken retirement, here is the list of those 6 cricketers:
1. Joginder Sharma (Indian):
Joginder Sharma represented the country for a brief period of time but he will always be remembered by the Indian cricket fans because it was on his bowling that Misbah-ul-Haq played a reverse scoop shot which was caught by S Sreesanth and India won the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup 2007. In addition, he played the IPL for Chennai Super Kings from the year 2008 till 2012 and he was also a part of two IPL titles winning CSK squad. Joginder Sharma debuted in the year 2004 and played his last match for the country in 2007, currently he is working on the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Haryana Police and on 3 Feb 2023, he announced his retirement.
2. Aaron Finch (Australian):
The former Australian cricketer not only represented the country but he also led the team in ODIs and T20Is and under his leadership, Australia also won its first T20 World Cup in 2021. Aaron Finch made his debut in the year 2011 and on 7 Feb 2023, he took retirement from the international cricket. In his career of around 12 years, he played 5 test matches, 146 ODIs and 103 T20Is in which he scored 278 runs, 5406 runs and 3120 runs, respectively.
3. Murali Vijay (Indian):
The former Indian cricketer was mainly a test player who made his debut in the year 2008 and the last test match that he played was in 2018. Murali Vijay played 61 test matches and 17 ODIs and on 30th January 2023, he announced his retirement from the international cricket.
4. Hashim Amla (South African):
The former South African cricketer of the Indian origin made his debut in the international cricket in 2004 and took retirement in the year 2019. Hashim Amla played 124 test matches, 181 ODIs and 44 T20Is in his international career and though he kept on playing county cricket after retirement yet on 18 January 2023, he took retirement from all forms of the game.
5. Kamran Akmal (Pakistani):
The former Pakistani cricketer who is pretty famous for English speaking and writing skills played his last international match in 2017 and on 7 February 2023, the wicketkeeper-batter announced retirement from the international cricket.
6. Dwaine Pretorius (South African):
The former South African cricketer made his debut for the national side in the year 2016 and he played for the country till 2022. In his short career, Dwaine Pretorius played 3 test matches, 27 ODIs and 30 T20Is and on 9 January 2023, he took retirement from the international cricket.
We wish all the best to these cricketers for their new innings!