5 Legends who retired from International Cricket in 2018

The year 2018 was quite an eventful year, both in the longer and shorter formats, both on and off the field. Test cricket saw more teams winning overseas, not just matches, but series. Also, there were more 5 wicket hauls than hundreds this year, which shows the dominance of bowlers in the longest format. The situation was exactly opposite in limited overs, where batsmen made merry in all parts of the globe.

There were a lot of controversies off the field too, including the ball-tampering saga which saw the skipper and vice-captain of the Aussies getting banned for a year. Apart from all these, there were certain stars who bid adieu to international cricket in 2018. Here we look at 5 such giants who will never be seen in international cricket again.

#5 Dwayne Bravo

An all-rounder with plenty of flair and skill, both as a batsman and a seam bowler and an even better fielder, Bravo will go down as someone who was highly underutilized by West Indies cricket. That Bravo was a special talent was imperative from his debut Test series in England as he claimed six wickets in an innings in Manchester and also top-scored for his team in the same test. The ODI series at home in 2006 against India gave his limited overs career a major boost, as he bamboozled batsmen with his slower ones chipped in with match-winning contributions with the bat.

With time, as T20 leagues started blooming around the globe, Bravo's international career took a dip. In 2010, he, along with Pollard, turned down the West Indies cricket board contract so that they can be available for the IPL and other leagues. The following year he chose IPL over a two-match home Test series against Pakistan. He did not play any of the 24 tests that West Indies played between 2011 and 2013 and finally bid adieu to Test cricket in January 2015. He was a key member in the 2012 and 2016 West Indies sides that won the T20 World Cups.

Bravo was handed over the ODI captaincy, taking the mettle from Darren Sammy. However, as the captain of the West Indies side, he played a major role in the team pulling out midway of the India tour due to issues with the board. Two months later he was dropped from the side and Jason Holder replaced him as the skipper.

Bravo has been a key part in the Chennai Super Kings setup since 2011, winning the coveted Purple cap twice. As CSK returned after suspension, they bought back Bravo, who showed his class in the very first match of the season. With a 36 ball 68, Bravo won them the game from an almost unwinnable situation against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in their own backyard. Despite retiring from international cricket, he will remain a key part of the CSK setup.

Dwayne Bravo, in international cricket, will go down as someone who could have done a lot more than he actually did, courtesy controversies with the board and some of his own preferences.

#4 Rangana Herath

Making his debut in 1999, Rangana Herath was seen as a support to legendary Muralitharan in the first decade of his career. His role was mostly to bowl long spells and build pressure on the batsmen and allow Muralitharan to work his magic from the other end. However, Herath had been Sri Lanka's go-to bowler ever since Muralitharan retired.

The orthodox left-arm spinner took over from Murali as the main spinner in Tests, his strengths being his accuracy and the ability to bowl long spells. Later on his career, he added a mystery ball which is quicker and darts back into the right-hander. His ability to subtly vary his pace and flight made him a valuable asset in overseas tours too.

Herath's 9 for 128 in the 2011-12 tour to South Africa gave Sri Lanka their first Test win in South Africa. He performed exceptionally well in the Australia tour in 2012 too, the year in which he finished as the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. Herath ultimately came out of Muralitharan's shadow and finished as one of the best left-arm spinners.

Herath's 20-year career ended against England at home where he picked 3 wickets. With 433 Test wickets, Herath finished as the highest wicket-taker among left-arm spinners and the second highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in Tests. The void created by his retirement will be a huge one to fill for Sri Lanka.

#3 Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

England's highest run scorer in Test cricket retired from all forms cricket after a prolonged lean patch. When he relinquished captaincy after losing 4-0 to India in 2016, he ended a 5-year tenure of leadership during which he won 24 out of 59 Tests. This is the second most for any English skipper after Vaughan (26). His 22 losses is also a record.

Scoring a hundred in his debut test against India at Nagpur, Cook finished with the most number of hundreds by an Englishman with 30 hundreds. He posed a serious threat to Sachin's record of highest aggregate in Test cricket, however, lack of form in the last couple of years and an early retirement did not help his cause.

England's most successful Test batsman, however, did not have a very good limited overs career though, playing just 92 ODIs and 4 T20Is. He also was appointed as the skipper of the ODI side and led his team to the finals of the 2013 champions trophy where they lost to India. But just before the 2015 World Cup, due to poor form as well as poor performance of the team, he was sacked as the captain of the limited overs side. Cook continued captaincy in Tests, till the 4-0 drubbing against India in 2016.

The 2-1 win against India in India remains a major highlight of Cook's captaincy career, where he led from the front with his batting, showing exceptional skill and patience. His 766 runs in seven innings in Ashes 2010-11 played a major role in giving England their first series win in Australia in 24 years.

Though his form waned in towards the end of his career, Cook will go down as one of the finest cricketers from the English soil and one of the finest openers of his era.

#2 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

The top scorer in the finals of both world cups that India won in the 21st century, Gautam Gambhir bid adieu to international cricket a few days before the IPL auctions. One of the most complete batsmen who could match the aggressiveness of Sehwag as well as the grind of Dravid. Once the number one Test batsman in the world, Gambhir played a key role in India's rise to the top of the test rankings in 2009.

With more than 10000 international runs from 56 tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, Gambhir will go down as one of the finest openers to have played for India. However, on either side of his honeymoon period were disappointments due to his technical flaws which dominated his other attributes.

The decline started after the World Cup when Gambhir's was a walking wicket in the overseas tours of Australia and England where he regularly poked deliveries outside off and India lost all right tests in those tours. Subsequently, he failed in a couple of home series too, which paved the way for his ouster. The emergence of Dhawan and Vijay made it more difficult for Gambhir to make a comeback.

The former KKR skipper was someone who changed the fortunes of the Kolkata based franchise and won them two titles in 2012 and 2014. But the urge to play for his home franchise led to KKR not retaining him in the 2018 auctions. Things did not pan out well for Gauti and he left captaincy midway and was subsequently released from the squad.

For a player of his caliber, the end was rather disappointing.

#1 AB De Villiers

ABD

One of the most loved cricketers around the globe, a batsman with unbelievable skill sets and breathtaking shots, AB retired from international cricket in 2018 just after the IPL. A cricketer with enormous talent and the temperament to back it up, an agile fielder and a shrewd skipper, the South African unfortunately could not live his dream of lifting the coveted World Cup.

The legend from the rainbow nation made his Test debut against England in 2004 along with Dale Steyn. After a couple of ordinary years, AB had a blistering 2008 and he never looked back since then. His remarkable consistency along with the maintenance of tremendous strike rate made him one of the greatest batsmen of his era. He had the record of the fastest ODI hundred in 31 balls, and at the same time possessed the ability to grind out entire days of test cricket.

Mr. 360, as fondly called by fans due to his ability to hit in all parts of the ground, led the Proteas to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. He was appointed as the Test skipper in January 2016. The flamboyant batsman not only flourished in international cricket, but also his performances in the IPL earned him a legion of Indian fans. Playing for RCB, De Villiers has played numerous memorable knocks, entertaining crowd to the fullest. But just like the World Cups, De Villiers never finished in the champion side in the IPL.

With the World Cup one year away, De Villiers' retirement came as a shock to many and dented South Africa's World Cup chances drastically. After all, you do not find someone with 50 plus average and 100 plus strike rate in ODI cricket every day. In short, AB was the Jack of all trades and also the master of all.