LISTICLE
Follow UsEngland all-rounder Moeen Ali recently came out of his retirement to join the England Men’s Test squad for the Ashes Test matches against Australia starting at Edgbaston on June 16. He was bought in as a replacement for Jack Leach, who sustained a low back stress fracture.
While we process that, let's look at some other players who decided to make similar comebacks.
Imran Khan
Arguably, the best player to come out of Pakistan played international cricket for 21 years. However, in 1987, a loss to Allan Border’s Australia in the World Cup semi-final at home dissuaded him from pursuing further cricket ambitions. He announced his retirement, only to be reinstated as captain by Zia-ul-Haq, then President of Pakistan.
Of course, his comeback eventually turned out to be fruitful as, four years later, he led the Men in Green to their first and only ODI World Cup.
Grant Flower
Zimbabwe’s most prolific opener, and that too by some distance. In 2004, he announced an early retirement, along with 13 fellow Zimbabwean cricketers. This was to protest Heath Streak’s allegedly racially fueled sacking as a captain.
Six years later, he made a comeback to international cricket on former teammate Alistair Campbell’s insistence. Not finding much success on his return, he decided to keep his second stint short. In his own words, he did not wish to hold back any young, upcoming player at his expense.
Kevin Pietersen
The England superstar enthralled one and all with his stylish strokeplay. He holds the record for being the fastest Englishman to 2000 runs.
In 2011, he announced his retirement from white-ball cricket to focus more on Tests. But, he reneged on it in just a few months, as he was included in the side for ODIs and T20Is. Later on, the South African born’s career came to an abrupt end after being embroiled in controversy.
Dwayne Bravo
After being away from ODIs and Tests over an extended period, the Caribbean great announced his retirement from all formats in 2018.
However, a year later, he hinted at making a comeback to international cricket and featured in a few T20Is in 2020. Post the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai, he announced his retirement, marking the end of an illustrious career for the all-rounder.
Shahid Afridi
When it comes to going back on retirements, no one can beat Lala. Despite having a stunning career across formats, he is more famous for the number of retirements he’s announced, with the reported number sometimes being as high as five.
He first announced his retirement from Tests in 2006, only to make a return on the insistence of PCB Chairman, Shahryar Khan. Ironically, he hardly played any Tests for the next three years, finally making a comeback into the XI in 2010 and that too as the team’s captain. This too lasted no more than a game, as Afridi retired from Tests for good after that.
After crashing out of the 2011 World Cup, Afridi was sacked as Pakistan’s ODI captain. He took this personally and announced his retirement as a sign of self-respect. Five months later, he withdrew this decision on account of a change at the help of affairs. He finally retired from ODIs post the 2015 World Cup debacle in Australia.
In T20s, Afridi first announced before the 2016 T20 World Cup that this might be the last time he steps out on the field. He finally announced his retirement from the shortest format in 2017, signaling the end of a career that lasted over two decades.
