10 Popular Cricketers Who Opted For Different Professions After Retiring From International Cricket

It has been often reflected by cricketers that how they have only a limited number of years to play the game, to keep performing at the highest level. And at some moment in their late thirties, they have to chalk out retirement plans. It is one of the reasons why players have at times chosen to play franchise cricket and make quicker and more cash than they would have done playing for the national side.

Some retire early from cricket, and some distance themselves from the sport completely, if they don’t see it as a viable profession anymore. Some cricketers even have to do carpentry, truck driving to fulfill their needs post-retirement, as not all are able to land the lucrative job as commentators or broadcasters.

Here we take a look at 10 Popular Cricketers Who Opted For Different Professions After Retiring From International Cricket:

Brett Lee

One of the most fearsome bowlers of his time, Brett Lee was a menace on the pitch, but off it, the charming and handsome Aussie lad worked in the entertainment business, with no surprises to anyone.

Lee, who took over 700 international wickets, played the guitar for the band Six & Out in the early years of his career and was in an Asha Bhosle music video in 2006. Post-retirement, he appeared in a romantic comedy film UnIndian, in 2015.

He has also been the co-host of the travel show Getaway, alongside former Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell. The show went air on Fox Life in 2015. Lee is a regular feature in the commentary box as well.

Andrew Flintoff

The 2005 Ashes hero and one of the greatest England all-rounders, Andrew Flintoff chose to enter the Boxing ring post his early retirement in 2009. Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, over 200 pounds, Flintoff’s had the body to sustain in that field.

In 2012, he had the bout against America’s Richard Dawson. Although the Englishman won the match in the 4th round, he decided to end his boxing career. He has also featured in plenty of TV films and documentaries, written books, and is a commentator.

Curtly Ambrose

With over 600 wickets to his name, Curtly Ambrose is one of the greatest and deadliest fast bowlers of all time. The iconic speedster, known to be “the giant who spoke very rarely” turned a musician post-retirement. Ambrose is a bass guitarist for the Reggae band Big Bad Dread and the Baldhead.

He was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2011 and was knighted in February 2014 at Antigua.

Nathan Astle

Nathan Astle, who scored over 11,000 runs and took more than 150 wickets for New Zealand, plies his trade in the field of Auto Racing, as a serious profession. In 2010, he competed in Ruapuna Speedway in Christchurch, in the modified sprint car category. In 2013, he came third in the South Island Champs on the same track. The 49-year-old holds the record for fastest Test double hundred which he achieved in 2002 against England at Christchurch. Astle was awarded New Zealand’s ODI batsman of the year in 2006, but retired weeks before the 2007 World Cup citing lack of motivation.

Xavier Doherty

The 2015 World Cup-winning former spinner Xavier Doherty has turned to carpentry after taking retiring from cricket in 2017. The left-arm spinner played in 4 Tests, 60 ODIs, and 11 T20Is for Australia picking a total of 72 wickets.

He featured in just a solitary game in the 2015 home World Cup, and never represented his country again. After trying his hand in different jobs the 38-year-old found his calling in carpentry.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan remains one of the well-renowed personalities in the world even a couple of decades after he last played for Pakistan. The 1992 World Cup-winning captain joined politics and is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The legendary all-rounder scored over 7500 runs and snared more than 500 wickets. He is a constant pop up in the news for his regular involvement in geopolitics.

Chris Lewis

Chris Lewis’ career as an international bowling all-rounder remained; him ending up in prison for 13 years was much worse. One of the most talented players to represent England, Lewis featured in 32 Tests and 53 ODIs before being cast out of the side slowly due to his disciplinary issues with the team.

An attractive man, Lewis appeared on several magazine pages with nothing but an underwear and a willow – a bat – in his hand. In 2008 he was arrested at Gatwick Airport and found guilty of smuggling cocaine into the country, hidden in fruit juice tins in his cricket bag, and consequently was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Chris Harris

Chris Harris has been a long time servant of New Zealand cricket, playing international cricket from 1992 to 2004 and domestic cricket till 2010.

However, the all-rounder who scored over 5000 international runs and plucked more than 200 wickets for the Black Caps moved completely away from the sport after retirement. He now works as a sales representative for a distributor of orthopaedic devices.

Suraj Randiv

Former Sri Lanka spinner Suraj Randiv has started his new career as a bus driver in Melbourne for a France-based company called Transdev. Alongside Randiv, other former players Chinthaka Jayasinghe and Waddington Mwayenga also employed in the same profession in Melbourne, besides playing for Dandenong Cricket Club.

Randiv, who featured in the 2011 World Cup final against India, played 12 Tests, 31 ODIs, and 7 T20Is in which he claimed 43, 36, and 7 wickets respectively.

Chris Cairns

Former Kiwi all-rounder, Chris Cairns is now the chief executive of SmartSportz, a company specialising in virtual sport. SmartSportz could create a realistic virtual crowd, using Hollywood movie technology, creating a sporting world similar to that used in games.

Cairns, who aggregated over 8000 runs and picked over 400 wickets at the international level, was involved in a court case for four years since 2015. He was adjudged not guilty of “perjury and perverting the course of justice charges” in relation to match-fixing allegations.

Before working for SmartSportz, Cairns has done manual labour for a living – he used to drive trucks and clean bus shelters as he went bankrupt through the court case.

Also Read: Legendary XI Of Cricketers Who Have Played In All Major T20 Leagues