7 Cricketers Whose Fake Retirement Rumours Spread Over Social Media

Make no mistake, social media is an insidious maze, especially for star cricketers. It hardly spares famous personalities and star cricketers, who tend to always remain on the headlines even for the trivial events in their life. While some of them turn out to be true, most of them come out as baseless ones.

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Over the years, several cricketers have fallen prey to false rumours. One of the latest episodes was when MS Dhoni’s retirement rumours started doing rounds and spread like wildfire over Twitter two months ago. It was his wife Sakshi, who quashed it with a fitting reply to put it to rest. But it turns out that he was not the only one.

We take a look at seven cricketers who also found about their ‘retirement’ via social media:

MS Dhoni:

India toured England in 2018 for the first time in four years to play all three formats. It was perhaps the last time that former Indian captain MS Dhoni was going to be in the shores. While the tourists won the first ODI comfortably, England took the next two as MS Dhoni could not do much with the bat.

Hence, after India’s defeat in the third ODI in Leeds, he took the ball to show it to the coaches; however, people assumed that the keeper-batsman retired and took the ball as a souvenir. Instead, the 39-year old went on to play that full year and the next year’s World Cup. MS Dhoni is arguably regarded one of the best Indian captains.

Virender Sehwag:

Virender Sehwag was undeniably one of the most destructive opening batsmen, who operated at a strike rate of above 80 in Tests and ODIs. Virender Sehwag played for India between 1999 to 2015, featuring in 104 Tests and 251 ODIs. Sehwag is also the only Indian batsmen to have scored Test triple-century. As a matter of fact, he has passed the 300-mark twice.

Back in 2015, a Dubai-based journalist claimed that “Sehwag appears to have announced his retirement from international cricket” after he made an appearance at the Masters Champions T20 League in which only retired players partake. However, the 41-year old denied those claims, but strangely he retired in October that year.

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James Anderson:

England’s sultan of swing James Anderson has been in their setup since 2003, the year in which he made his debut and also claimed a fifer. Along with Stuart Broad, Anderson has remained the mainstay of their bowling attack. Fifteen years later, the Lancashire seamer broke Glenn McGrath’s record of 563 wickets to become the highest Test wicket-taker for fast bowlers.

It was during India’s tour of England in 2018 that Anderson’s retirement rumours surfaced. The claims were that the 37-year old would follow the path of Alastair Cook and hang up his boots after the five-Test series. However, Anderson came forward and sidelining it all, making crystal clear that he wants to keep playing as long as he continues to perform well. Currently, James Anderson has 589 Test wickets.

Younis Khan:

Younis Khan had been the bedrock of Pakistan middle-order for most of his career and radiated a calm and composed presence on the crease. With 10099 runs in 113 Tests, the right-handed batsman is the highest run-getter for his nation. Younis’ 34 Test tons are also the most by a Pakistan batsman by a mile.

In 2017, an alleged fake Twitter account spread news that Younis would hang up his boots from limited-overs cricket after the ICC World Cup; however, will continue playing Tests. Later, the veteran came forward and clarified “I have no Twitter account”.

Chris Gayle:

The Universe Boss Chris Gayle has also been at the receiving end of some fake retirement news. Chris Gayle remains one of the most destructive T20 batsmen, who has a penchant for clearing the boundaries at will. In ODIs, Gayle operates at a strike rate of above 80 and in T20s, he strikes at over 140.

Before the 2019 World Cup, the 41-year old did announce he would be retiring after the event. However, during the tournament, the southpaw took a U-turn and declared he would play ODIs and maintained reservations about Tests. After the final ODI against India in August 2019, he effectively rubbished any retirement rumours, stating he was not done yet.

Ab de Villiers:

Former South African captain Ab de Villiers is one the most entertaining and versatile batsmen on the planet. Ab de Villiers is undoubtedly the master of offensive innovation, carrying the ability to dispatch the ball for six from any point at any area. The Pretoria-born was the subject of fake retirement rumours too.

It was in 2016 that rumours started making rounds that De Villiers was considering retirement. Instead, it turned out that he was falling in love with the game. But shockingly, two years later in May 2018, the 36-year old called it a day out of nowhere. But De Villiers continues to entertain his fans in the IPL.

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Shahid Afridi:

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi and controversies often go hand in hand. From various sledging incidents, tiff over social media with Indian cricketers, and getting involved a ball-tampering scandal, the list is endless. Amid this, there was a retirement rumour too.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) planned to give the swashbuckling all-rounder a farewell game in September 2016. But Afridi sidelined those rumours, declaring he was not hanging up his boots now. Nevertheless, during the PSL edition of 2017, he said his international career was over.

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