3 players who announced their international retirement after being named in the squad ft. Shane Dowrich
International retirements come about in numerous ways, with age, form, fitness, and other reasons factoring into the decision to walk away from the game.
In cricket, the subsequent World Cup is often a parameter for the players to decide on retirement. Several players retire if they are at the fag end of their careers, and if the next World Cup is far-fetched for them to participate in to allow the management to build a core squad for the tournament.
Retirement announcements come with the player informing the board of their decision in the break between series or making the next one their final outing. It is rare that a player gets picked up for a series and retires immediately without playing it.
Here, we look at three such instances of players who announced their international retirement after being named in the squad.
#1 Shane Dowrich
In a turn of events like very few, West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Shane Dowrich shocked the cricketing world with his sudden retirement ahead of the England ODIs.
Dowrich played the solitary ODI for West Indies against Bangladesh in 2019. He earned a recall on the back of a sensational showing in the Super50 Cup with an average of 78 in five games.
Dowrich was more of a regular in the West Indies Test setup from 2015 to 2020, playing 35 games. He scored over 1,500 runs at an average of 29.07 with three centuries and nine half-centuries while effecting 90 dismissals behind the stumps.
Just days after being included in the ODI side, the right-handed batter made the shocking announcement of bidding farewell to international cricket.
Despite the sudden decision, West Indies' director of Cricket paid tribute to Dowrich, saying:
"He is a disciplined, hard-working cricketer who always gave his utmost in front and behind the stumps. He had a memorable series in 2019 when he made an outstanding Test century on home soil in Barbados to help us beat England and win the Wisden Trophy.
"We respect his decision to retire and appreciate it is not an easy one to make. We wish him all the best as he steps away from the international stage."
The selectors decided to not name a replacement for Dowrich, with skipper Shai Hope set to take over the wicketkeeping duties.
#2 VVS Laxman
One of India's stalwarts, VVS Laxman, made a sudden decision to end his international career in 2012. Following a below-par tour of Australia, where he scored a lone half-century in eight innings, there were questions about Laxman's place in the team.
However, Laxman was picked in the Indian Test squad for the home series against New Zealand, with the first game to be played in his hometown, Hyderabad. Yet, the stylish batter announced his retirement with immediate effect less than a week before the start of the series.
"I am retiring with immediate effect," Laxman told reporters. "I think this is the right time to move on. I have always kept the country’s success ahead of personal aspirations. I think it is time to give youngsters a chance at home ahead of a tough season.
"But I would like to thank the Almighty for allowing me to live my dream of playing for India. Till last night I was unable to make up my mind, but in the end, I listened to my inner voice and arrived at my decision to retire."
In a stellar Test career that spanned almost 16 years, Laxman scored 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97 in 134 games, with 17 centuries. His career highlight came when he scored an incredible 281 against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 when India upstaged Australia despite following on from 274 runs behind.
#3 Rahul Dravid
Another Indian batting legend, Rahul Dravid, announced his limited-overs retirement in an unforeseen manner. Thanks to his dominance in the Test series in England in 2011, Dravid earned a recall to the India squad for the ODI series and the one-off T20I that followed.
The selection came after Dravid was overlooked from the Indian white-ball squads for two years since the 2009 Champions Trophy. The champion batter was surprised at the inclusion and announced his retirement within a few hours from both white-ball formats to focus on Tests.
"I am honoured and privileged to be selected in the Indian one-day team," Dravid said. "Since I had not been picked for one-day cricket for the last two years, I was obviously a little surprised and to be honest, because I had not been picked.
"At the end of this one-day series, I would like to announce my retirement from one-day and Twenty20 cricket and concentrate only on Test cricket. I had not informed the selectors or the board of my desire to solely focus on Test cricket."
Rahul Dravid did play the ODI and T20I series and scored 155 runs combined in five innings, with a lone half-century. Incidentally, it was the lone T20I of Dravid's illastrious career, where he scored over 13,000 Test and 10,000 ODI runs.