5 batsmen who retired just short of a major landmark in Tests

The world has witnessed sportsmen reaching or eclipsing major landmarks in their respective games since time immemorial. The greatest cricketer of all, Sir Don Bradman, retired with almost all the Test match records to his name; then six decades later arrived the modern master Sachin Tendulkar, whose lengthy list of achievements and honours on the park might take decades to touch.

But in spite of all that, it was perhaps harsh that a few prominent Test batsmen missed out on landmarks despite getting agonisingly close, with retirement - either pre-planned or sudden ones - ending their glorious careers. Sportskeeda lists five such batsmen who missed out on unique milestones by a whisker.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 15,921 runs

Most Test matches, most ODIs; most Test runs, most ODI runs; most Test hundreds, most ODI hundreds; most Test half-centuries, most ODI half-centuries: Sachin Tendulkar had all the records. Before the short two-match Test series against West Indies in 2013, the classical right-hander had declared that the series would be his last on the international stage, having already retired from ODI cricket the previous year.

Tendulkar entered his farewell series with 15,837 runs, just 163 short of becoming the first batsman to 16,000 Test runs with a maximum of four innings to bat in. However, he was dismissed on 10 the first time that he batted, in the first Test at Kolkata; and fate would be such that Tendulkar would get the opportunity to bat only twice in both matches combined. Tendulkar fell for 74 in his final Test innings, eventually ending a glorious career with 15,921 runs, only 79 short of 16,000.

#2 Brian Lara – 11,953 runs

Brian Lara's last Test series was the tour of Pakistan in 2006

One of the greatest to have ever played the game, former West Indies captain Brian Lara left his mark by registering a yet-to-be-broken world record of 400* against England in 2004; before that, he had already amassed 375, also against the same opponents in 1994. As if that were not enough, he holds the record for the highest first-class score by a batsman after having hammered 501* for Warwickshire against Durham just two months after the 375.

With 131 Tests under his belt, Lara's last international series turned out to be the 2007 World Cup, announcing after West Indies' win over Bangladesh that the following dead rubber against England would be his last. The southpaw finished with 11,953 runs, just 47 short of the rare landmark of 12,000, having hit 448 runs in his final Test series against Pakistan in their own backyard in 2006.

#3 Adam Gilchrist – 96 Tests and 287 ODIs

Adam Gilchrist fell short of the rare feat of 100 Tests and 300 ODIs by a wicket-keeper

Undoubtedly one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsmen the world would ever see, Adam Gilchrist redefined the role of the man standing behind the stumps. Until he arrived in 1996, the only job of a wicket-keeper remained that of collecting catches and effecting stumpings; but once he took centre stage, the relevance of runs from a wicket-keeper suddenly appeared to have ballooned, with the world realizing what an impact contributions from the bat of a wicket-keeper could have.

The great Gilchrist announced mid-way into the Adelaide Test against India in 2008 that that would be his last Test, with international retirement coming after the subsequent tri-series that included Sri Lanka. He ended a career of 96 Tests and 287 ODIs, extremely close to completing a century of Test matches and a triple century of ODIs. Had Gilchrist gone on to complete both, he would have become the then first wicket-keeper to have achieved both.

#4 Inzamam ul Haq - 8,830 runs

Inzamam ul Haq fell just two short of equalling the then Pakistan record of most Test runs

One of Pakistan cricket's finest assets who set the world on fire with a blistering half-century in the 1992 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Inzamam ul Haq missed out on being his country's then highest run-getter in Test match cricket. In his farewell Test against South Africa at Lahore in 2007, he was dismissed for 3 off 2 balls, stumped while dancing down the wicket to Paul Harris in anticipation of the record held by Javed Miandad.

Inzamam got 8,830 Test runs in a Test career which began in 1992, as a result falling only two short of equalling and three away from beating the feat then held by Miandad, who had 8,832 runs to his name. The current Pakistan record, though, belongs to another former captain, Younis Khan, who retired in 2017 with 10,099 runs.

#5 Andrew Strauss – 50 Tests as captain

With 50 Tests as captain, Andrew Strauss fell just one short of the then England record of 51 held by Michael Vaughan

One of the most successful England captains, former opener Andrew Strauss led his country successfully in as many as 50 Test matches, exactly half the number in which he had played totally. The most renowned among Strauss' distinctions as Test captain remained winning the 2009 Ashes at home and then demolishing Australia Down Under in the return series in 2010-11. Just months later, England whitewashed India 4-0 under him to climb to the top of the charts as a Test team.

After England lost 0-2 to South Africa at home in 2012, Strauss announced his retirement from the format - he had already quit ODIs in 2011 - and finished just one short of the then England record of 51 Tests as captain, held by his first skipper Michael Vaughan, but now belonging to Strauss' former opening partner Alastair Cook.