3 Indian cricketers who could retire anytime now
With less than 5 months left in the 2019 cricket World Cup and the Indian team not looking to experiment, it is almost time for these superstars to retire from International cricket. Indian team is recently playing in Australia where they created history after defeating Australia 2-1 in the test series. The men in blue have a pretty balanced side with good bench strength. Also, the Yo-Yo test does not do any good to these old guns so, it seems highly unlikely that these players will get a chance any time soon. Here are the 3 players who can call it time on their careers.
#3 Harbhajan Singh
If Harbhajan Singh is said to be the best off-spinner in Indian cricket history then it will not be wrong. Bhajji, who started his career for Team India at the age of 18, played international cricket for the last time in 2016.
After being out of team India, Bhajji now finds it difficult to crack into the domestic cricket too. It seems impossible for him to return to the team on the basis of the IPL performance. He also knows this well.
But Bhajji has hardly played any cricket in the last year as he was also not selected in his state Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy team. Therefore, don't be surprised if the Turbanator announces his retirement soon as he is often seen in commentary box then on the field.
#2 Irfan Pathan
The next name in this list is Irfan Pathan, considered to be the successor of legendary Kapil Dev. Due to injury and persistent fitness problems, the player's career has expired ahead of time.
The historic hat-trick against Pakistan in 2006, member of the 2007 T-20 World Cup winning team, Irfan, who impressed everyone in his shining game on the Perth wicket in 2008 promised a lot but could not go all the way due to regular injuries.
Last seen in 2012 in Indian jersey, this player did not get any buyers in the IPL. Now he is a IPL commentator.
In the 2018-19 season of Ranji Trophy, Irfan in his 8 matches for Jammu and Kashmir has scored 463 runs with an average of 30.86 including 3 fifties and took 19 wickets as well. But with the fitness and age not on his side, he is more likely to retire sooner rather than later.
#1 Yuvraj Singh
Like Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh also played a key role in making team India the World Champion in the 2007 World T20 and 2011 ODI World Cup, but for the past few years, the Yuvi's bat has been completely peaceful.
Having passed through a life-threatening illness such as cancer, fitness is a big problem of Yuvi. Sixer king is now looking to score runs in the tournaments like Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kings XI Punjab has also released him from the team for the next IPL season but was later sold at his base price to Mumbai Indians in the second round of the auctions.
In the 2018-19 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Yuvraj in his 7 innings for Punjab has scored 264 runs with an average of 37.17 and with the ball he took 2 wickets giving away 93 runs in 2 innings. Whereas in the Ranji Trophy he scored 99 runs in his 7 innings with a poor average of 14.14 and only took 2 wickets.
The probability of him playing in the 2019 World Cup is very less. So, don't be surprised if Yuvraj Singh, who is going to be 37 on December 12, announces his retirement.