5 instances when cricketers walked out before an ICC tournament
West Indian Darren Bravo is the latest cricketer to have pulled out of an ICC eventA global stage. The worlds toughest competitors fighting it out for the elusive title. An opportunity to make the nation proud by emerging victorious after beating the best in the business. Accolades, fame, glory and a new found respect from contemporaries to follow.Every sportsperson, before embarking on his journey, has the ultimate vision to shine on the worlds grandest sporting event. With glaring eyes fixed upon every move and every performance, such sporting tournaments often have the cruel habit of differentiating the mediocre from the brilliant, displaying an athleteÂÂs mettle on the public platform.With such global tourneys being few and sparse in between, it is, therefore. surprising when a player, in the prime of his form, opts out voluntarily, deciding to give the much awaited contest a miss.West Indian cricketer Darren Bravo is the latest sportsman to join the bandwagon, by choosing to skip the T20 World Cup to be held in India from March, after he was named in the West Indies 15 member squad. Choosing to focus on Test cricket instead, Bravo cited that he has a âÂÂbig part to play in the resurgence of West Indies cricket in the longer formats of the gameÂÂ. The West Indies squad is already sans Sunil Narine and Keiron Pollard, who have pulled out due to a defective bowling action and incomplete rehab work after sustaining an injury respectively.However, this is not the first time that a cricketer has willfully walked out of an event. Here are 5 instances in recent history when a cricketer chose to pull out of an ICC tournament, for varied reasons.
#1 Jacques Kallis rules himself out of the Champions Trophy, 2013
Jacques Kallis was a notable absentee from the South African squad for the Champions Trophy in 2013, that was held in England.
Although the all-rounder had not featured in the national ODI team for over a year, it was expected that Kallis would make a comeback in the Proteas’ quest for their first ever ICC trophy.
However, the right-handed batsman opted out due to “personal reasons”, providing the big hitter David Miller an oppurtunity to turn out for AB de Villiers’ team.
Kallis, in all honesty, in his column for an Indian newspaper, wrote that “I simply cannot go through the motions or take up a place in a squad unless it has my full attention. So it would have been unfair of me to accept a place in the Proteas’ squad for the Champions Trophy next month.” His manager Dave Rundle cleared the air on this decision, stating that the cricketer needed time off to plan the next two years in international cricket, with the 2015 World Cup remaining his ultimate dream.
The veteran went on to play seven ODI’s after skipping the Champions Trophy, playing his last game against Sri Lanka in 2014.