As cricket enters the year 2024, it is time to look back at players who decided to hang up their boots, marking the end of some illustrious careers. From a bonafide legend of the game Meg Lanning to T20 World Cup-winning Australian captain Aaron Finch and 600-club entrant Stuart Broad, a few stalwarts of the sport decided to step away from the game; while some from one format of the game, others from all.
Here is a look at players who bid goodbye to the game of cricket in 2023:
Stuart Broad
The right-arm English quick is part of the 600-wicket club alongside his compatriot James Anderson, making them the only two pacers to achieve the feat. While Anderson still stars for England and looks on to 700 wickets in Tests, Broad decided to call it time and announced retirement on July 29, 2023, during the third day of the fifth Ashes Test against Australia. Although his career was majorly remembered as someone who got hit for 6 sixes by Yuvraj Singh, it sparked Broad’s evolution into a world-class bowler.
Aaron Finch
Six-time ODI World Cup-winning Australia had never won a T20 title. Their maiden T20 World Cup was presented to them in 2021 under Aaron Finch’s captaincy. Regarded as one of the most prolific white-ball batters, Finch scored 5406 runs in ODIs including 17 centuries. He played 254 international matches for Australia across formats. After captaining Australia in white-ball cricket for a long time, leading them to their only T20 title was the highlight of Finch’s career. He announced retirement in February.
Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla had called it quits in 2019 but was active in county cricket. But in January this year, he decided to move away from all forms of cricket. Amla had a glorious career and scored 18,672 runs for South Africa in 124 Tests, 181 ODIs and 44 T20Is. He has 28 and 27 centuries in Tests and ODIs respectively with batting average reading a touch below 50 at 49.47. He will surely be remembered as one of the best openers in Proteas cricket. Currently, he is the batting coach of MI Cape Town.
Ambati Rayudu
After re-considering retirement, Rayudu was sure of the fact that there wouldn’t be any second thoughts this time around and broke the news of retirement the day before IPL final 2023. He had a fairytale ending to his career with Chennai Super Kings lifting their record-equalling fifth title. After facing mistreatment from the board and not getting selected to the 2019 ODI World Cup squad, Rayudu announced retirement from international cricket on 2 July 2019. He will be remembered for his gritty knocks and always flying under the radar.
Quinton de Kock
The swashbuckling left-handed wicket-keeper batsman from South Africa played his final international white-ball game in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. He had earlier retired from Test Cricket in December 2021. de Kock is a common sight in T20 league cricket played around the world. He has revealed the monetary benefits T20 leagues bring with them while also citing his wish to spend quality time with his family. He played 54 Tests and 155 ODIs for South Africa while scoring 3300 and 6770 runs respectively.
Murali Vijay
Team India’s veteran opener last played for India in 2018 and decided to step away from the game in January this year. Vijay made his debut in 2008 and had great success with Chennai Super Kings from 2009-2013. He played 61 Tests for India, scoring 3982 runs and 12 centuries. He was part of the 2010 T20 World Cup squad as well.
Dwaine Pretorius
The South African all-rounder was the first player to retire from international cricket in 2023. He announced his retirement in January to fully shift his focus to various T20 leagues around the globe. Pretorius made 30 T20I, 27 ODI and three Test appearances for his country.
Daniel Christian
Dan Christian is a T20 veteran and has the reputation of winning T20 titles around the world. He called it quits during the 2022-23 BBL. He featured for Australia in 20 ODIs and 23 T20Is.
Alex Hales
Hales played a vital role in England’s 2022 T20 World Cup winning campaign as he provided them blistering starts and chased targets down as well. Playing 156 international matches for England, he announced retirement on 4th August.
David Willey
England fast bowler David Willey decided to retire from all forms of international cricket after the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. His decision came a week after England rolled out their new central contracts with Willey not being given a deal. Willey is one of the members of England’s World Cup squad. Willey, 33, has represented the Three Lions in 70 ODIs and 43 T20Is since making a debut in 2015. He was a regular face in the English dressing until getting dropped on the eve of the 2019 World Cup for Jofra Archer.
Meg Lanning
Australian women’s captain Meg Lanning retired from international cricket, walking away as one of the game’s most prolific run scorers and decorated leaders. The 31-year-old top-order batter led Australia to four Twenty20 World Cup titles, one 50-over World Cup triumph, and a Commonwealth Games gold medal — earning the nickname “Megastar” for her run-scoring exploits. After 13 years of international cricket and having captained her country on 182 occasions, Lanning said it was the “right time to move on to something new”. According to Cricket Australia, Lanning has hit more one-day centuries than any woman and is the top run-scorer for the Australian women’s team. Australia won 26 consecutive one-day games under Lanning’s captaincy between 2018 and 2021, which remains that format’s record-winning streak. Off the pitch, Lanning also played a crucial role in highlighting the gender pay gap in men’s and women’s professional cricket.
Katherine Sciver-Brunt
Veteran English fast bowler decided to step away from the game of cricket on 5th May 2023. The 38-year-old featured for England in 267 matches across formats picking 335 wickets. Sciver-Brunt was part of the 2017 T20 World Cup England squad.
Shabnim Ismail
The right-handed fast bowler made her debut in 2007 against Pakistan. She announced retirement on 3rd May, 2023 bringing curtains to an illustrious 16-year career. She played 231 matches for the Proteas in all three formats and claimed a total of 317 wickets. She is also the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of women’s ODIs with 191 wickets from 127 games.
Dane van Niekerk
South Africa’s all-rounder Dane van Niekerk announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket, ending a career that spanned more than 14 years. Dane represented South Africa in 107 ODIs, 86 T20Is and a single Test match against India in 2014, with her last international appearance coming in 2021 before a broken ankle left her sidelined. Her decision to retire from international cricket comes after her controversial non-selection in South Africa’s squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup in February. Dane failed to pass the fitness test by 18 seconds and was eventually left out of the squad.
Trisha Chetty
South Africa’s veteran wicketkeeper-batter Trisha Chetty retired from all forms of cricket due to a recurring back injury, bringing an end to a 21-year career in domestic and international cricket. Breaking into the South African national set-up in January 2007 at 18, Trisha signs off with 138 caps in ODIs, apart from 82 T20Is and two Test caps. As a wicketkeeper, Trisha secured 184 dismissals in the ODIs, 46 scalps more than her nearest competitor, taking 133 catches and a world record-equalling 51 stumpings (tied with England’s Sarah Taylor and Anju Jain from India). In T20Is, she made 70 dismissals (42 catches and 28 stumpings) after making her debut in August 2007. With the bat, the right-handed Trisha amassed 2703 ODI runs, including 16 half-centuries and a top score of 95 against Ireland in 2016. In the T20Is, she scored 1,117 runs at a strike rate of 88.09, including five fifties.
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