Zimbabwe's Sean Williams retires from T20I cricket after Bangladesh series

Zimbabwe National Cricket Team’s senior all-rounder Sean Williams has bid adieu to T20 international cricket after the conclusion of his team’s recent five-match T20I series against Bangladesh on Sunday, May 12.

Williams, one of Zimbabwe's cricket legends, decided to retire from T20I cricket after Zimbabwe managed to secure a 9-wicket win over the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh cricket team in the final T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

However, Zimbabwe had to face a 1-4 series loss against the hosts, Bangladesh, having lost the first four games of the series against the home side. Notably, the 37-year-old Williams featured in only two T20I games during Zimbabwe’s 1-4 series loss to Bangladesh and failed to leave a significant mark on the field.

Sean Williams retires from T20I cricket

The left-handed batter was clean-bowled by Taskin Ahmed for the golden duck in the first T20I, and then he didn’t need to bat in the fifth T20I against Bangladesh. However, his retirement from T20I cricket does not mark the end of the star all-rounder’s cricketing journey, as Williams will continue to represent Zimbabwe in ODI cricket and Test cricket.

However, Williams has not yet made any official statement over his retirement, but a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official, who is associated with the Zimbabwe cricket team, confirmed that the star all-rounder retired from T20I cricket after the final game in Dhaka.

A BCB official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Sunday: “He (Sean Williams) decided to retire from T20I and informed his teammates about his decision following the game.”

Zimbabwe’s T20I captain Sikandar Raza also confirmed in his Instagram story that Williams called time on his career in the shorter format of the game. Notably, Williams has the record for having the joint-longest T20I career of 17 years, 166 days, along with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.

Notably, Sean Williams made his T20I debut for Zimbabwe in 2006 against Bangladesh. He had established himself as a key player for the Zimbabwe team in this format. Across 81 T20Is, Williams showcased his batting prowess by amassing 1691 runs at an average of 23.48 and a strike rate of 126.38. He smashed 11 half-centuries in T20Is, with his highest score being 66 runs.

Additionally, Williams was also effective with the ball, claiming 48 wickets at an economy rate of 6.93 for Zimbabwe with his left-arm spin bowling. Apart from excelling in T20Is, Williams found even greater success in ODI cricket.

He is close to the milestone of 5000 runs in ODIs, having scored 4986 runs from 156 matches at an impressive average of 38.06 and a strike rate of 86.69. He has so far smashed eight centuries and 35 half-centuries in his ODI career. Williams also scalped 83 wickets in ODIs to show his all-round abilities.

Williams has a record of scoring 1000 runs, taking 50 wickets, and grabbing 50 catches in ODI cricket. He also represented Zimbabwe in 14 Test matches and scored 1034 runs with the help of four hundred and three fifties. He also has 21 Test wickets to his name.