ICC World Test Championship Final: 5 Indian Players Who Might Retire After The Tournament

The ICC World Test Championship final could just be the end of the road for certain fringe players and it is nearly impossible for them to make a comeback post the tournament. Their retirement will certainly be on the cards and despite their efforts for the country, they may not find a place in the Indian test team with their age factor.

It shows the amount of competition for spots in the Indian test team and nobody is guaranteed a spot in the test squad unless they perform consistently. The selectors have made sure most of the time that the players get ample chances before being dropped from the squad. Here are 5 Indian players who might retire after the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand.

ICC World Test Championship Final: 5 Indian Players Who Might Retire After The Tournament

Wriddhiman Saha:

Wriddhiman Saha is currently with the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and he will continue to be in the squad for the five-match test series. However, it is almost certain that he might not get the nod ahead of Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper option for India.

Saha played his last test for India in the first test against Australia 6 months back and ever since that he has been benched. The 36-year-old is still one of the best wicket-keepers in the country and there is no doubt about the skills he possesses.

However, Rishabh Pant’s recent contributions with the bat have almost made it impossible for him to get a game and he might consider retiring after the ICC World Test Championship finals.

Shikhar Dhawan:

Shikhar Dhawan has been in terrific form in the limited-overs matches for India as well as in the IPL and he finished as the top scorer in the recent IPL too. But he is not getting any younger and his chances in the Indian whites are looking bleak at the moment. The present test openers of Rohit and Gill with Mayank Agarwal in the wings might be tough for him to break in.

Dhawan last played test cricket for India three years ago in 2018 against England and his technique was exposed in the swinging conditions. He battled out really hard and was subsequently dropped from the Indian test squad after that.

His numbers in home conditions in tests look much better but he is unlikely to feature again in tests for India and should considering retiring from tests after the ICC World Test Championship finals at 35 years of age.

Ishant Sharma:

This might be a big surprise but there have been fast bowlers who have retired at a relatively younger age with a number of injuries. Ishant Sharma is one of those who did succumb to a lot of injuries and the 32-year-old is one of the key factors in taking India to the ICC World Test Championship finals. Despite him bowling really well, the tall lad from Delhi has to go through a lot of strain while bowling.

He may start to feel the heat while bowling some long spells for India in overseas conditions. Ishant Sharma is the most experienced Indian player in the squad for the ICC World Test Championship finals and has played more than 100 tests already.

With the likes of Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav doing really well in the few opportunities, Ishant could probably pack his boots in the longest format of the game after the ICC World Test Championship finals.

Murali Vijay:

Murali Vijay was an important batsman for India in overseas tours for a long time but he is out of favor at the moment and the 37-year-old might find it impossible to back in the scheme of things for international cricket. He was released from the Chennai Super Kings squad ahead of this IPL and hasn’t been playing domestic cricket as well.

Vijay last played test cricket for India in the Test series against Australia in 2018 and he was dropped from the squad after a string of low scores. He was always a key contributor in overseas conditions and his technique did help him to stay in the squad for a considerable period of time.

He has played 61 tests scoring 3982 runs at an average of 38.29 and he might be looking to retire after the ICC World Test Championship final.

Dinesh Karthik:

Dinesh Karthik started his test career as a wicket-keeper batsman in the middle order but scored loads of runs for Tamil Nadu in the top order and was recalled to the Indian test side as an opener. He did manage to play 26 tests scoring 1025 runs and hit just the one century and seven fifties. He did not play test cricket for a long time and was back in contention again in 2017 against Afghanistan.

He could not contribute much and his last test was against England in the 2018 test series. The 36-year-old has been in and out of the international side for a long time now and he should consider retiring from test cricket after the ICC World Test Championship final to concentrate solely on the limited-overs games where he has a relative chance to make it to the Indian squad again.