5 Promising cricketers who retired before turning 30

Nicholas Pooran stunned everyone by announcing his retirement from international cricket at 29.

Cricket has seen many incredible careers that have entertained the world for many years. This sport has been one of the most competitive, one that has many celebrated stories.

However, there have been some exciting players who hung up their boots very early to put an end to a promising career. Retiring is not an easy decision for any sportsman, but sometimes the circumstances become such that a player has to choose an early retirement.

Some reasons are injuries, bad form, personal objectives, and mental stress. This article is also about five such cricketers who had the potential to become great players but retired from international cricket before turning 30.

List of five Promising cricketers who retired before turning 30

1. Craig Kieswetter (England)

England won their maiden ICC T20 World Cup title in 2010, and Craig Kieswetter played a crucial role in it. He was England’s second-highest scorer, scoring 222 runs. He was regarded as the next big white-ball star for the Three Lions.

But unfortunately, he had to retire at the age of 27. Though his retirement was not due to form or mental burden, it was because of an eye injury he sustained during a county match while batting for Somerset against Northamptonshire. It affected his vision, which made it difficult for him to play this professional sport.

2. Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)

Nicholas Pooran is one of the top T20 stars in the world. He is one of the most in-demand cricketers across the franchise tournaments. Pooran was the first West Indies batter to score over 2000 T20I runs. But, he drew curtains on his international cricket career at the age of 29.

Pooran didn’t reveal any specific reason but claimed that it was a tough decision for him. He retired with the most runs and matches in T20Is for the West Indies. Pooran played 61 ODIs and 106 T20Is, scoring 1983 and 2275 runs respectively.

3. James Taylor (England)

James Taylor is one of the unluckiest cricketers to have retired early from international cricket. He had a great start to his cricketing career and was regarded as a promising young talent. He had an average of 42.23 in ODIs with 887 runs in 26 innings for England.

But his career was cut short due to an incurable heart condition. He was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in 2016 and had to retire at the age of 26.

4. Ravi Shastri (India)

Ravi Shastri was one of India’s go-to all-rounders in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a solid middle-order batter with the ability to take wickets with his part-time spin. Shastri was part of the Champion of Champions in the 1985 World Series.

He played 80 tests and 150 ODIs, scoring 3830 and 3108 runs, with 280 international wickets. But he decided to retire in 1992, at the age of 30. However, after his retirement, he became one of the most notable voices in cricket commentary and also had a successful stint as India’s head coach between 2017 and 2021.

5. Saqlain Mustaq (Pakistan)

Saqlain Mushtaq was certainly one of the best spinners that Pakistan ever produced. He made his international debut at the age of 19 in 1995 and made an impact straight away. However, he had to retire at the age of 27 in 2004. He was the first off-spinner, who mastered the doosra.

In 1997, he took 69 wickets in 36 ODIs, which is still a world record for most ODI wickets in a calendar year. Saqlain is the fastest bowler to 250 ODI wickets in just 138 games. He had picked 208 and 288 wickets in 49 tests and 169 ODIs respectively. But due to a knee injury and vision problems, he had to take early retirement.

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