What Becomes of a Cricketer After Retirement?

Like most sports, the players involved in cricket tend to have limited careers. Unlike teachers and bankers, they can’t rock up to the pitch until their mid-60s and retire with a grandfather clock. Indeed, many cricketers will find themselves retiring in their 40s or even earlier if injuries hit.

But that’s far too young for many to sit back with a pipe and slippers and fade into the sunset. So, what do they do? Well apart from joining the line-up of Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice or I’m a Celebrity… or making a career of heading over to the best cricket betting sites and betting on their old team, here are some of the careers chosen by cricketers after their retirement…

Treading the Boards

One not-uncommon alternative for some sportsmen, such as cricketers, is turning to TV and acting. Some cricket stars are used to global adulation – and so dropping out of the limelight isn’t easy.

Let’s take, for instance, Brett Lee – an Australian fast bowler. He was loved by fans from all over the world – boasting 690 wickets and one of the country’s most lethal attackers. When he retired, he became the co-host of the travel show Getaway alongside former Miss Australia, Jesinta Campbell. He also starred in the Bollywood film, UnINDIAN.

Another Sport

Often, a sportsman has transferable skills – and some players can turn their hand to another sport. Let’s take a look at Andrew (aka Freddie) Flintoff, one of the most famous players in the England team in the early 2000s. He is still widely adored for his outstanding Ashes performance in 2005.

When he retired, he clearly still had a taste for the competitive scene and he tried his hand at pro-boxing. He got off to a pretty good start as well, beating Richard Dawson of the US. Now he is a regular on panels and is considered a sporting TV personality.

An Ear for Music

From playing the willows to playing an instrument, some players transfer their magic into music.

One example of this is the West Indian fast bowler, the legendary Curtly Ambrose who was considered one of the scariest pacers of his time. He gave the opposition batsman nightmares. After this 6’7” giant of a man retired, he started playing the guitar and is one of the bass players in Dread & the Baldhead, a soca/reggae band from Antigua.

From Brawn to Brain

Some players go from using their brawn to make money to using their brains to carve out a career. One excellent example of this is one of England’s best former skippers, Mike Brearley.

After having been well-known for his incredible cricketing brain, he went on to use a different part of that brain and took up writing. Additionally, he worked as a psychoanalyst and even served as the President of the British Psychoanalytical Society.

A Step into Politics

It would be remiss to not mention the legendary Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan – considered one of the country’s greatest-ever players. His career in the 1990s was second to none.

Khan’s success on the cricket field seems dwarfed by the road he took afterwards – stepping into the world of politics. He became the Prime Minister of Pakistan and took to leading a country instead of a cricket team.

How the Mighty Fall

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Whilst Imran Khan of Pakistan became Prime Minister of the country, we also have his fellow countryman, Arshad Khan, who took quite a different direction. He may have been pretty useful as a cricketer, but unfortunately, he wasn’t good enough to be a huge success – and failed to make it onto the side. Arshad Khan then moved over to Sydney, Australia and turned to driving a cab to make his money.

So, there you have it – from TV and Music stars, to Prime Ministers – and even cabbies, cricketers have certainly taken some interesting directions after retirement!