3 cricketers who made their T20I debut before Rohit Sharma and are yet to retire ft. Shakib Al Hasan
Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from T20I cricket. The Indian captain made the announcement at the post-match press conference of the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where India beat South Africa by seven runs.
After winning his first ICC trophy as India's captain, Rohit Sharma felt that he should hang up his boots now and let the next generation of cricketers take over. Sharma mentioned that he had never thought about retiring from T20Is one day, but he felt the time was right to do it.
"I didn't think that I would retire from T20Is, but the situation was such... I thought it was the perfect situation for me. Nothing better than winning the cup and saying goodbye," Rohit told reporters.
With Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is, almost all players who participated in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 have retired now. Only the following three players who made their T20I debut before Rohit are yet to hang up their boots.
#1 Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh
Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is one of the few cricketers who made his T20I debut in 2006 and is still playing actively. Shakib and Rohit Sharma were the only two cricketers who were playing their ninth T20 World Cup in 2024, having been a part of each edition of the mega event played in the past.
The all-rounder has played 129 T20I matches for Bangladesh thus far, scoring 2,551 runs and scalping 149 wickets. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Shakib scored a magnificent 64* against Netherlands, which helped Bangladesh qualify for the Super 8s round.
Notably, Shakib has the longest T20I career, spanning 17 years and 209 days. Rohit Sharma's career span was of 16 years and 284 days.
#2 Mahmudullah, Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan's compatriot Mahmudullah has also had a longer career span than Rohit Sharma. Mahmudullah made his T20I debut against Kenya in a quadrangular series match played on September 1, 2007.
The off-spin bowling all-rounder has represented Bangladesh in 138 T20I matches, scoring 2,394 runs at an average of 23.70. He also has 40 wickets to his name, with his best figures being 3/10.
Mahmudullah was a part of the Bangladesh T20I squad in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He could not impress much, but his unbeaten 16 played a vital role in Bangladesh's win over Sri Lanka.
#3 Shoaib Malik, Pakistan
Another off-spin bowling all-rounder to feature on the list is Shoaib Malik. The veteran all-rounder has been active in international cricket since the 1990s. He made his T20I debut back on August 28, 2006 against England.
While the former Pakistan skipper has not played a single T20I since the away series against Bangladesh in late 2021, he recently mentioned that he is still available to play for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game.
"I have retired from Tests and ODIs. I had great stats when I was dropped, I am still available to play T20I cricket for Pakistan, but I don't expect anything from the captain or selectors. Zero expectations, and will play till I am enjoying," Malik told paktv.tv last year.
Considering how Pakistan's middle-order failed in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the selectors may consider bringing Malik back in the T20I format. It will be interesting to see if Malik gets another chance to don the green jersey.