5 Asian legends who lost their final Test match

A player's retirement is always a huge loss for cricket, the team as well as the fans. The case is true not only for cricket but all sports. More importantly, the loss of a legendary stalwart is always tough as his team takes a lot of time to recover.

Sri Lanka, once a formidable team, fumbled after the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

For a great player, retiring with a defeat makes the occasion even sadder. The recent retirement of Rangana Herath is one such example. Not only Sri Lankan fans, but everyone wanted the iconic spinner to retire with a win. However, England spoiled his final party at Galle.

In reverse chronological order of their retirements, here are some of the greatest Asian players who ended their respective Test careers with a defeat.

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#5 Rangana Herath

The legendary Sri Lankan bowler retired at an age of 40 after the recently concluded first Test against England at Galle. Unfortunately for him, Sri Lanka lost his last match by 211 runs.

Having taken three wickets in his final game, Herath ended his glittering career with 433 wickets at an average of 28.30. The left-arm spinner ended his Test career with another milestone as he became only the third bowler to take 100 wickets at a single venue (Galle).

In 2016, Herath led Sri Lanka's Test team after Angelo Mathews pulled out of the team due to an injury. Out of five matches he played as a captain, he won three and lost two. He is one of the few players who made their debut and retired at the same venue.

Replacing the great man will be a very challenging task for sure. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka cope with his retirement.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara

The iconic Kumar Sangakkara retired after the second Test against India at Colombo in 2015. In that game, Sri Lanka suffered a humiliating loss by 278 runs and the star batsman could only manage scores of 18 and 32.

But those scores hardly affect his astonishing career which saw him featuring in more than 500 international matches for Sri Lanka. In the 134 Tests which he played, Sangakkara scored 12,400 runs.

One of his most memorable knocks came against South Africa in 2006 when he put on a partnership of 624 runs with close friend Mahela Jayawardene. During that partnership, the left-hander himself scored 287 runs. His career best score of 319 against Bangladesh in 2014 is one of the memorable knocks in recent times.

Sangakkara's retirement led to the downfall of Sri Lankan team. Unfortunately for the Sri Lankan fans, they have not been able to find an able replacement for him even after more than three years.

#3 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

One of the best Indian cricketers of all time, Rahul Dravid retired from the game after the fourth Test against Australia in 2011. India suffered a heart breaking 298-run loss in that match and the great man could manage scores of just 1 and 25.

It was an unfortunate end to a magnificent career which produced 13288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31. With 36 hundreds and 5 double hundreds, he is one of the finest players India have ever produced.

Dravid also captained in 25 Tests and he was the first captain to lead India to a Test match victory against South Africa on South African soil. In 2007, he became only the third captain from India to win a Test series in England.

Even after his retirement, Dravid still remains an important part of Indian cricket. He is currently the coach of India Under-19 team and has helped unearth some of the very good future stars such as Prithvi Shaw and Shubhman Gill. For his excellent contribution to cricket, he was formally inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in November 2018.

#2 Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis

One of the fastest bowlers in the history of the game, Waqar Younis played his last Test match against South Africa at Cape Town during the 2002/03 series. Unfortunately, he got to bowl only once as Pakistan lost the match by a mammoth margin of an innings and 142 runs.

However, his tally of 373 wickets in just 84 matches at a magnificent average of 23.56 is what actually defines Waqar. This tally includes 22 five-wicket hauls as well as 5 ten-wicket hauls. He also captained Pakistan in 17 Tests and guided them to victory in seven of those.

Even after his retirement, Waqar has remained an important part of Pakistan cricket. He has had two stints as head coach of their national team. In December 2013, he was also inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

#1 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar played his last Test against Pakistan in 1987. India lost a close match by a very small margin of 16 runs. Set a target of 221, the legendary opener guided India with a magnificent 96. But India lost him at the score of 180 and Pakistan went on to win the match. However, Gavaskar won the Man of the Match award for his special knock on a broken pitch at Bangalore.

His final masterclass was just one of the numerous classic knocks of Gavaskar. During his 16-year long career, he scored 10,122 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 51.12. He even has 34 tons and four double tons to his name.

After his retirement, Gavaskar has served as a television commentator and columnist. He also has been in various roles with the BCCI. In 2009, the iconic batsman was one of the inaugural inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame.