5 Indian Cricketers Who Might Retire From International Cricket In 2021

The abundance of young talent in Indian cricket is conspicuous. Not only that, the youngsters are no more intimidated by the pressure of the international arena –  evident by Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill’s Test debut in Melbourne – because of their involvement in the Indian Premier League, which demands not only skill but also the temperament to perform under huge pressure.

This makes it difficult for the senior players who are out of the Indian team to make a comeback into the national setup, even if they perform well in domestic cricket – players like Wasim Jaffer and Parthiv Patel have faced such predicaments. It could also force some of them to go into retirement- which would make them eligible to participate in the overseas franchise leagues instead of hoping for an international comeback.

5 Indian Cricketers Who Might Retire From International Cricket In 2021

Harbhajan Singh

It would be a foreseen news when Harbhajan Singh announces his retirement from international cricket – indeed it is surprising that he hasn’t yet. Harbhajan last represented India in a T20I in 2016 in the Asia Cup. He was benched for the entire T20 World Cup and was dropped following the megaevent.

The fact that he last played a professional match was the IPL final for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in 2019 – he skipped the 2020 IPL season citing personal reasons – reveals that the off-spinner is not eyeing a comeback in the Indian team. Hence, a retirement announcement is not far away. Nonetheless, Bhajji has been a great servant of Indian cricket, he will retire with more than 700 international wickets.

Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra was the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series in his last appearance for India in ODIs. It is utterly disheartening that the leg-spinner wasn’t picked in the ODI team after his terrific performance. Mishra played a few T20Is for India till 2017.

The 38-year-old continues to play for Haryana in the domestic circuit and the Delhi Capitals in the IPL. With the demand for leg-spinners at its peak in T20 leagues, Mishra could ply his trade there – for that he needs to officially retire from international cricket.

Dinesh Karthik

If Amit Mishra was hard done by, Dinesh Karthik’s exclusion from India’s limited-overs setup, in particular from the T20 team, remains unjustified. That Karthik was dropped from the T20 team after the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final speaks volumes of the muddled management and selection policies.

On the back of his superb form in domestic cricket, he was recalled to the national team. Karthik was phenomenal in the shortest format – his Nidahas Trophy heroics are unforgettable – for India and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Tamil Nadu batsman has a strike rate of over 150 from 2017 to 2019 in T20 internationals. Barring Hardik Pandya, Karthik remains the best finisher in the country. However, with plenty of young keeper-batsman in contention, the KKR skipper stands a low chance of another comeback, hence the 35-year-old may move on from his hopes of playing for India again.

Kedar Jadhav

Considering Kedar Jadhav’s performance in the IPL 2020 – 62 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 93.94 – it would be even difficult for him to be in CSK’s first-choice eleven, let alone make a return to the India side.

He was dropped mid-way through the 2019 World Cup but still was selected further in three more ODI series as he provides a part-time bowling option. However, his batting returns were not good enough to keep him in the side.

Hence, it seems like Jadhav’s international career is done, and the IPL was the final nail in the coffin. It would be a miracle if he makes a return to the national side, even though he manages to do well in the next IPL.

Stuart Binny

Stuart Binny had an international career of extreme highs and lows. He holds the record of the best bowling figures by an Indian in an ODI – 6 wickets for 4 runs against Bangladesh – and Binny was also selected in India’s 2015 World Cup squad after playing just 9 ODIs – which makes a revelation on India’s dearth of seam bowling all-rounder’s more than Binny’s calibre, he didn’t play a single game in the tournament.

He was dropped from the ODI team in 2015, and his T20 career for India came to a halt when Evin Lewis harrumphed the medium pacer for 5 sixes in an over in 2016. The all-rounder also went unsold in the previous IPL auction.

Also Read: Five Players Who Retired Prematurely From International Cricket