5 Players who should’ve retired after 2019 World Cup but didn’t

Retirement has always been personal but it has always been about timing as well. It is important for players to identify the right time to call it a day. There have been players nailed the timing. However, there have also been players who’ve prolonged their careers or have hung up their boots quite early. World Cup has been one of the stages where a lot of players decide to end their careers. Over the years, a lot of cricketers have bid adieu to the game after the showpiece 50-over event. This year was no different. However, there are players who should’ve retired after this 2019 World Cup but didn’t. There was a lot of speculation around these players and they’ve decided to continue and not call it a day. Thus, here are five players who should’ve hung up their boots post the 2019 World Cup. 1. MS Dhoni MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter) It was back in December 2004 that Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped on to the field for the first time in international cricket. He didn’t have the best of starts but soon found his feet. He went on to become India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across all formats. The former Indian skipper retired from Test cricket in December 2014 and solely played white-ball cricket. There was a lot of speculation around his retirement considering the way he bowed out of the longest format. However, in 2016, he cleared the air sarcastically and set his eyes on the 2019 World Cup. Thus, Dhoni was expected to retire after the 2019 World Cup but he’s kept everyone waiting. His form hasn’t been at it’s best and there has been a lot of criticism about his strike-rate and his approach. He scored 273 runs at an average of 45.50 in this World Cup and then made himself unavailable for two months. While Dhoni might be sharp as ever behind the stumps, his powers with the bat have been on the wane for a while now. Thus, post the 2019 World Cup was the right time to announce his retirement. 2. Chris Gayle Chris Gayle. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) The Universe Boss has been lighting up T20 leagues around the world for a while now. It may not be as frequent as a few years back but Chris Gayle has been performing well in the shortest format all across the world. He also seemed at the peak of his powers in 50-over cricket ahead of the World Cup. Gayle had a wonderful series against England and in fact, he also announced his retirement from the 50-over format and marked the World Cup as the finishing line. However, he has revoked that and will continue playing. The hard-hitting Jamaican opener had a rather disappointing World Cup. Gayle could muster 242 runs at an average of 30.25. He struggled to get going on multiple occasions and also, wasted a few good starts. Though Gayle might still be effective with the bat on his day, he is a big liability on the field. His approach with the bat can also backfire. Thus, he should’ve retired after the 2019 World Cup. 3. Mashrafe Mortaza Mashrafe Mortaza. (Photo Source: OLLY GREENWOOD/AFP via Getty Images) Mashrafe Mortaza has been a talisman for Bangladesh. He has been fantastic as a leader and has helped Bangladesh cricket come up the ranks in the last few years. He has led his side to multiple memorable triumphs, especially in ODI cricket. However, over the last few months, Mortaza’s form with the ball has been shoddy. This year (2019), he has picked up just eight wickets from 15 ODI matches. In fact, in eight games in the World Cup, he could get just one wicket. He sent out 56 overs throughout the tournament and had very little success. He was pretty expensive as well, going at 6.44 runs an over. Moreover, there were speculations that he might retire after the showpiece event in England. Mortaza was picked for the ODIs against Sri Lanka but a hamstring injury will keep him out. Thus, his future remains uncertain. But it seemed the right time to retire and let the team move on. 4. Hashim Amla Hashim Amla. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images) Hashim Amla has been a very underrated white-ball player. He consistently got the runs and was hardly noticed. In fact, there was a time when Virat Kohli kept setting records for reaching landmarks and Amla kept breaking them. Amla is the record holder for being the fastest to 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 ODI runs. However, that seems long gone now. He took an age to move from 7000 to 8000 and his form has been very patchy in the last 18 months or so. While he has got runs but there have been times where he struggled. Even in this recently concluded World Cup, the 36-year-old South African opener didn’t look convincing at all. He scored a couple of fifties but struggled for a large part of the tournament. Moreover, age isn’t on his side either. Thus, with a couple of exciting youngsters waiting in the wings and this was the perfect time for Amla to hang up his boots. 5. Mohammad Hafeez Mohammad Hafeez. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) No player might’ve blown hot and cold as much as Mohammad Hafeez in the last couple of years. He constantly gets starts before throwing it away. There are a couple of match-winning knocks that he’s played but consistency has been his biggest problem. It was no different in this World Cup either. The 38-year-old all-rounder scored 253 runs at an average of 31.62 and only picked up two wickets. Hence, batting at No. 4, he couldn’t really get going neither was he that effective with the ball. Thus, his form hasn’t been the greatest and his fielding isn’t too impressive either. Moreover, he is on the wrong side of the 30s and doesn’t seem to have much cricket left in him. Thus, he should’ve followed his teammate Shoaib Malik’s footsteps and called it a day.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

IPL 2025 Auction

IPL Teams

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

5 Players who should’ve retired after 2019 World Cup but didn’t

There was a lot of speculation around these players and they’ve decided to continue and not call it a day.

5. Mohammad Hafeez

Latest Articles

Jay Shah lands in Brisbane for potential Olympics meeting

Indian Street Premier League 2025 Teams and Players List

Shedge sends ball out of stadium as Mumbai win quarter-final