Namibia's star all-rounder David Wiese announces retirement from international cricket

David Wiese impressed everyone with his impeccable showings at the T20 World Cup 2024 for Namibia. He was the linchpin behind Namibia’s win over Oman in the first Super Over of the latest edition. Wiese is from South Africa but managed to get featured for Namibia after a five-year grind and migration to Kolpak in 2016. He was inducted into the Namibia squad for T20 World Cup 2021, where he made his debut, and the star player announced his retirement on June 16, 2024.

The all-rounder has been extremely pleasing with his limited appearances for Namibia in the white-ball cricket. Playing 34 T20Is for Namibia, he amassed 532 runs and plucked 35 wickets. In a short ODI career of just nine games, he scored 228 runs with six wickets to his name. After announcing his retirement, he labelled his age to have played a major role in putting a full stop to his impressive career.

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"I mean, [the next] T20 World Cup is still two years away, I'm 39 years old now, so, in terms of international cricket, I don't know if there's much left in me. Obviously, I [would] still like to play the game for a couple more years, I feel like I've still got a lot to contribute and a lot to play,” said Wiese as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“But I just feel like what better place to end a special career for me personally with Namibia. I've had a lot of good times with them and to play my last game for them possibly at a World Cup against a world-class team like England, it just seemed like the right time,” he added.

He's a great guy on the field in terms of performance: Erasmus

However, Wiese will continue to play franchise cricket. He has represented himself in leagues such as the CSA T20 Challenge, the PSL, SA20, The Hundred and the Blast. Talking about the recent developments on his franchise prospects, he has been retained by the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. Speaking of Wiese’s on-field and off-field conduct, Namibia captain, Gerhard Erasmus quipped that the 39-year-old had a massive impact.

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"Massive impact, in terms of the level of cricket he brought to our circle. He's a great guy on the field in terms of performance but off the field he is someone we have really learned a lot from and he's inspired us to new heights and greater heights," said Erasmus.