5 Players who might be playing their last Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy is almost a mini-World Cup and chances are hard to come by for the players. In the given opportunity, the players have to prove their worth for a place in the tournament that happens once in four years.

With the tournament not taking place next until the end of 2021, most of the players would either retire by that time or would be dead and buried by the team due to their inconsistent form. It is also tough for the players aged 33 and 34 to maintain fitness and stamina for a very long time in the high-intensity of the 50-over format.

Lets’ look at five years who might be playing their last Champions Trophy of their career:

#1 MS Dhoni- India

Arguably, one of the best wicket-keepers to play the game of cricket, MS Dhoni has progressed from another wicket-keeper to becoming the role model for the future wicket-keepers. He is also one amongst the most successful captains in World Cricket, with Australia’s Ricky Ponting the only one ahead of the former Indian skipper.

The right-hander made his Champions Trophy debut in the 2006 edition, where he was just another novice keeper-batsman. It was not until 2009, where MS Dhoni got all the fame and appreciation that he deserved having already led the country to a World Cup victory. The former Indian skipper became the first captain to win all the major trophies by ICC when he won the Champions Trophy at England in the year 2013.

#2 Yuvraj Singh- India

Yuvraj Singh’s debut Champions Trophy campaign dates back to the year 2002, where he first played in the Indian jersey. The southpaw took the tournament by storm, announcing his entry into the international arena. If there were ever a highlight package of the 2002 Champions Trophy, it would have many a montage on Yuvraj Singh’s performance with the bat.

He was dominant in the semi-final win against the Proteas, where he made a match-winning knock of 62 runs off just 72 balls. If the 62 was not enough, the southpaw’s domination on the field single-handedly took the side home with two brilliant catches to dismiss Graeme Smith and Jonty Rhodes. This edition of Champions Trophy certainly looks like the last one Yuvraj may feature in, given his age and fitness.

#3 Shoaib Malik- Pakistan

The Pakistani all-rounder is famous all over the globe, with his exploits in the shortest form of cricket. At the age of 33, Shoaib Malik is all set to play perhaps his last Champions Trophy for the country. In the Group A match in 2009 between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, it was the right-handers’ innings of 128 which caught the Indian bowlers dozing.

The right-hander’s knock consisted of 16 boundaries and came in just 126 deliveries at a healthy strike rate of 102. Malik is on the verge of playing his 16th Champions Trophy game for the men in green, having already delivered the highest score in the tournament history for them. The right-hander, in his current form, may seem to hold the key to how far Pakistan can go in this tournament.

#4 Mashrafe Mortaza- Bangladesh

Bangladesh is all set to play their second Champions Trophy after having only featured once in 2006, where Mashrafe Mortaza was a part of the team. Fast-forward ten years and now the right-arm quick is the central figure in the Bangladesh team, skippering the talented bunch of cricketers.

Mortaza has already indicated that this would be his last Champions Trophy and he would too just like others want to leave the frame on a high. The all-rounders’ form would be the decisive point for the Tigers. However, they failed to enter the knock-out stage of the tournament the last time they featured after losing to Sri Lanka and West Indies.

#5 Lasith Malinga- Sri Lanka

Lasith Malinga is arguably still the greatest death-over bowler in the cricketing history. The Sri Lankan right-arm quick is known for his Slinging action, which has made him a tough bowler to have a crack at. Injuries have continuously plagued the 33-year-old pacer’s cricketing career, and hence he has been in and out of the team.

This is most likely to be the last time that we could see the Slinging arm in action in the 50-over format of Champions Trophy. It is unlikely that the bowler has in himself to bowl ten overs and withstand 50 overs fielding in the ground.

He has been the team’s match-winner for a prolonged time, and his mere presence in the lineup would help lift the inexperienced bowling unit. Maybe we could see the old Malinga in full flow and can help review Sri Lanka to a second Champions Trophy win, but it remains to be seen whether he manages to stay fit for the course of the tournament.