3 high-profile cricketers who announced their retirement in 2019

Just like every other year, 2019 has had its fair share of retirements. Legendary cricketers have bowed out of the game that they owned like monarchs, leaving behind a legacy that can inspire the future generation of players.

These men served their nation for a long time and with immense skill, and they walked into the sunset with their heads held high.

As always, the game is left poorer when a legend bids adieu, and that was especially true with this set of high-profile cricketers. They will no longer turn out for their country, but can look back at their careers with a sense of satisfaction and pride.

In this article, let us look at three top cricketers who announced their retirement in 2019.

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3. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj scored 8701 runs for India in ODI cricket

Yuvraj Singh will easily go down as one of the greatest left-handed batsmen to ever don the blues for India.

In a stellar ODI career spanning 304 matches, the stylish batsman scored 8701 runs, including 14 hundreds and 52 fifties, at an average of 36.56. Yuvraj was the hero of India’s 2011 World Cup campaign, shining with both bat and ball. He was eventually declared the Man of the Tournament.

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He also sparkled in T20Is, scoring the fastest ever 50 and helping India win the 2007 World T20. Yuvraj memorably smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during that tournament, giving his fans indescribable joy.

The left-hander announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in June 2019, bringing down the curtains on an illustrious 18-year career. Yuvraj last played an international match for his country on 30th June 2017 against the West Indies, where he scored 39 runs.

2. Nuwan Kulasekara

Kulasekara took 199 wickets for Sri lanka in ODI cricket.

He did not have the pace, but he made the ball talk with his ability to make it move both ways off the deck. He was a man who could trouble the very best of batsmen with the ball in hand.

Nuwan Kulasekara was an unsung hero of Sri Lankan cricket, a man who represented his country in 184 ODIs and took 199 wickets. The lanky Sri Lankan pacer also represented his country in three World Cups - the 2007, 2011 and 2015 editions.

Kulasekara made his debut for the Sri Lankan side way back in the year 2003, at a time when the side was filled with bowling greats like Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. But he still managed to carve out a niche for himself, and opened the bowling for his side for a number of years.

Kulasekara will best be remembered for the magical 5/22 that he took against Australia at Brisbane, making the ball swing viciously both ways.

Kulasekara is the fifth highest wicket taker for Sri Lanka in ODI cricket. He bid adieu to the game in July 2019.

1. Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla was the silent warrior of South African cricket

Hashim Amla was the silent warrior of South African cricket. While the likes of Ab de Villiers stunned the world and gathered fans with their audacious stroke play, Amla piled up the runs by following the cricketing textbook.

The numbers that he gathered over the course of a 15-year career stand testimony to the fact that he is one of South Africa’s greatest batsmen of all time.

In the 124 Tests that he played for his country, Amla scored 9282 runs at an average of 49.97, including 28 hundreds and 41 fifties. Amla also represented his country in 181 ODI matches, and scored 8113 runs at an incredible average of 49.47.

But more than anything else, Amla was a player who reminded the cricketing world about the traditional art of batsmanship. The South African announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August 2019.