5 Cricket legends who timed their retirements to perfection
All good things have to come to an end and cricket is no exception. Deciding to retire from the game that you have played all your life is never an easy decision to make. When champions go through bad patches at the end of their careers, there is an appeal from the media and fans to know “When will you retire? Youngsters are waiting in the wings”.
However there a just a few cricketing legends who timed their retirements to perfection and ended their careers on a high.
#1 Imran Khan
Imran Khan was one of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen. He along with Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee formed the “Golden Quartet of All-rounders” which dominated the cricket arena in 1980s. Starting in the year 1971 against England, Imran added pace to his well-oiled armory and played his best cricket in his last decade where he averaged 50 with the bat and 19 with ball in 51 Tests. He is one of the eight cricketers in the history of cricket to achieve an all-Rounder’s double, scoring 3807 runs @ 37.69 and claiming 362 wickets @ 22.81 in 88 Tests.
Imran was known to be a fierce competitor and an astute leader. He had terrific man-management skills and played the role of a father figure to many promising youngsters like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-Ul-Haq. Such was his self-belief that Pakistan became a force in the second half of the 1992 World Cup. Under his inspirational leadership, Pakistan went on to to claim their first ever global silverware in 1992 and he retired on a high after playing a pivotal role in the final against England scoring 72. Noting his contributions, the ICC inducted him in the “ICC Hall of Fame” in the year 2010.