Cricketers Whose Career Ended Prematurely In Their 20s

Cricket, just like other sports, is a true reflection of life. Just like in life, you never know what turn it will take in the future, the same is the case with sports. It’s unpredictable.

Just ask those cricketers who started off on a bright note and were primed for a long haul, before a dramatic turn of events proceeded to end their career while they were still in their 20s. Here’s a look at cricketers whose career ended prematurely in their 20s:

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Craig Kieswetter- England

222 runs in 7 games at an average of 31.71, including a match-winning 49-ball 63 in the titular clash of the 2010 ICC T20 World Cup against Ashes foes Australia. Craig Kieswetter played a stellar role in England’s maiden World triumphs in the Caribbean.

Kieswetter’s career, however, ended on a brutal note four seasons later, when he was coped a blow on his eye while batting in a county fixture. Kiesewetter underwent surgery and even tried to make a return to competitive cricket by featuring in a domestic T20 tournament in South Africa. The right-hander, however, was forced to call it a day in June 2015 at the age of 27.

“After been given the opportunity to take some time off and step away from the game, I’ve come to the decision that wasn’t the easiest to make, yet I feel is the right one,” said Kieswetter after announcing his retirement.

Aaqib Javed- Pakistan

The youngest bowler [19] to take a hat-trick in One-day International cricket when he racked up the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, en-route to his career-best figures of 7-37, during the 1991 Wills Trophy final, Aaqib Javed had it all going for himself in his teenage years.

Everyone talks about the impact of Wasim Akram in Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup triumphs. But one shouldn’t forget Javed’s contribution, who beautifully spearheaded the Pakistani attack alongside Akram in the absence of the injured Waqar Younis.

Aaqib Javed finished with 11 wickets in 10 games at an economy rate of 3.86. However, the hara-kiri that ensued in Pakistan cricket in the mid-90s due to match-fixing- where Aaqib was one of the few cricketers who came out clean- and his own dwindling form meant that Javed played his last game for the country at the age of 26.

James Taylor- England

James Taylor was one of the brightest prospects to have emerged from the English county circuit, but his world soon turned on its head when he was forced to retire from the age of 26 back in 2016 due to a serious heart illness.

Taylor, who represented England in 7 Tests and 27 ODIs in which he scored 753 and 1107 runs respectively, announced his retirement with a heart-breaking note on Twitter where he wrote: “Safe to say this has been the toughest week of my life! My world is upside down. But I’m here to stay and I’m battling on!”

Basit Ali- Pakistan

He was hailed as the next Javed Miandad of Pakistan cricket but guess, how that panned out. Basit Ali, who played 19 Teste and 50 ODIs, made his debut in 1993 and he was immediately hailed as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket.

One year later, Basit Ali, along with wicket-keeper Rashid Latif shocked the world when they announced their retirement, alleging that senior players in the team were embroiled in match-fixing. Both cricketers eventually returned but Ali’s career could not go past 1996 when he was just 26. Years later Basit Ali revealed how the internal politics in the team led to his career getting cut-short and why he was compared to Javed Miandad in the initial stages.

“There was a conspiracy to remove Javed Miandad from the team (round 1993). That’s why I was compared with. Honestly, I was not even one percent of what Miandad was. I used to bat at number 4 and when Miandad was removed, they shifted me to number 6. At number 4 , I used to average 55 and after they shifted me to 6, my performance went down. They knew that at that position, I would hardly ever get to bat. They gave me slow poison,” Basit Ali told Times of India.

Irfan Pathan- India

Irfan Pathan will always remain a folk hero, an enigma who slayed his fan’s hearts for fun. But he will also remain an unfulfilled dream, someone, who we so wish that we’d seen more of. But unfortunately, it all ended at the age of 28.

Pathan burst on the scene as a prodigiously talented left-arm fast bowler during the 2003-04 tour of Australia and for the better part of the next three years impinged himself as the leader of the Indian pace attack. But the change in action in 2006 led to his speed getting dropped and swing also taking a considerable hit.

Irfan repackaged himself as an able seam-bowling all-rounder between 2007-12 but the lack of support from the team-management meant that Pathan was dropped from the set-up post the 2012 T20 World Cup. He was a part of the 2013 Champions Trophy squad but did not get a single game. Pathan’s international career, in which he claimed a total of 301 wickets, came to an end at the age of 28.

Mohammad Kaif- India

He led Indian U-19 team to World Cup glory in 2000; he, along with Yuvraj Singh orchestrated one of India’s greatest-ever wins in ODI cricket [Read: Natwest Trophy final] besides bringing a whirlwind revolution in Indian fielding; he was the bedrock of India’s lower-middle-order in ODI cricket for a major part of the 2000s.

Yet, Mohammad Kaif played his last international match for India at the age of 26. Kaif was dropped from the Indian team following a series of low scores in the 2006 Champions Trophy and the subsequent tour of South Africa. He was, however, never given a chance to make a comeback into the white-ball team as India moves on with the likes of Suresh Raina, Yousuf Pathan, and later Ravindra Jadeja.

Mohammad Asif- Pakistan

He was hailed as the next big thing in world cricket. And, why wouldn’t he? Mohammad Asif was blessed with everything that a fast bowler can dream of: mechanical action and ability to make the ball appreciably- both in the air as well as off the seam.

But, unfortunately, Mohammad Asif’s intersection of talent had temperament proved to be a null set. And, it all ended for him at the age of 28 when he was caught in the infamous spot-fixing scandal alongside Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt during the 2010 Lord’s Test against England.

Tatenda Taibu- Zimbabwe

Imagine, you make your debut alongside cricketers who have idolized in your formative years, and all of a sudden all of them are gone, and you find yourself leading a bunch of youngsters amidst a politically charged environment. This is exactly what happened with Tatenda Taiba when he made the record of being the youngest Test captain in history back in 2004.

Taibu was easily Zimbabwe’s most talented batsman at the time but even he had to bore the brunt of voicing his opinions on the cricketing landscape of his country. Following threats to his family, Taibu announced his pre-mature retirement in 2005. After playing league cricket in Bangladesh, England, and Namibia, Taibu made a comeback to the national team in 2007.

In the following years, he would go on to score runs on a consistent basis before another shock came in 2012 when reports emerged that the former captain has retired from the game in order to start a church. Taibu, in a recent interview with Cricket Addictor, clarified the misconceptions around his retirement.

“That is not true. I have since then released my autobiography (Keeper of Faith) where I have stipulated what happened during that period. So what happened was, I went to have a meeting with the CEO to tell him that I had the calling and I was following that calling. He said that we can’t announce the information that you have just given us,” he added.

“We can’t say that to the media. We have to find the best possible way for people to understand,” He added: “I stand whatever you put in the papers is up to you; I have already told you my reasons. So, they thought that the best way for people to understand is if they say that I am a preacher So they said Tatenda has retired to become a preacher. So that is the first article that came out. And, people always go with that first article,”

Phil Hughes- Australia

The most tragic ending of them all. Philip Hughes, a talented young Australian opener who fell to his death after having coped a sickening blow to his head courtesy a Sean Abbott bouncer during a 2014 Sheffield Shield game.

Hughes, who represented Australia in 26 Tests, 25 ODIs, and 1 T20I between 2009-14, was taken to the hospital aftet collapsing face-first. Hughes underwent emergency surgery before being placed in an induced coma. He, however, failed to regain consciousness and passed away on November 27, 2014, at the age of 25.

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