5 Great cricketers who retired from International cricket in 2018
Retirement is one word that no fan likes to hear in any sport as they grow up watching their favorite players playing their favorite game for many years. Hence, the fans always get that feeling of nostalgia when they come to know that they will not be able to witness their heroes don the national jersey ever again.
Just like every year, 2018 also witnessed many players retire, albeit, in different capacities. Few said goodbye to International cricket only, hence, they can still be seen playing for their franchises around the globe while few "hung up their boots" completely.
Moreover, few also opted to quit only a particular format of the game in a bid to extend their international career in their preferred format.
Let us take a look at five great cricketers who bid adieu to International cricket in 2018.
#5 Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
Rangana Herath made his International test debut for Sri Lanka on 22 September 1999 against Australia in a stadium which ultimately proved to be his favorite hunting ground, Galle. Though Herath has always been a consistent performer, he was often overlooked as he played in an era where the spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan was at the top of his game.
But once the spin maestro retired from International cricket, Herath made himself an indispensable member of the playing XI in Sri Lankan test side. Herath became one of the prime examples of what is termed as the ‘late bloomers’ as he created a legacy of his own.
He played 93 Test matches and took 433 wickets with an incredible tally of 34 5-wicket hauls and 9 ten-wicket hauls. He bid adieu to the game as one of the best left-arm spinners in the history of Test cricket.
Even in the limited-overs format, his mind-blowing performance of 5/3 against New Zealand in one of the league games during the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup will go down as one of the best spells in the history of T20 cricket.
Herath retired from International cricket at the end of the first Test against England on 06th Nov 2018 at the same venue (Galle) where he debuted for Sri Lanka 19 years ago.