Hard to say goodbye: Ben Stokes latest in a recent spurt of retirement reversals among cricket stars
England’s Test captain Ben Stokes shocked the world by announcing his retirement from ODI cricket in the summer of 2022 and now he has pretty much done the same by returning to the fold ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, it is only the latest in a number of retirement reversals that we have seen in recent months among prominent cricketers at the international and lower levels for a variety of reasons.
Ben Stokes is expected to play for England in the 2023 World Cup(Getty Images)
Cricketers reversing retirements is nothing new. Probably the most famous cases of them all would be Imran Khan coming out of retirement to captain Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup title. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has reversed international retirements a number of times while Dwayne Bravo is another famous example, retiring from international cricket in 2018 only to come back to the West Indies T20 side in 2019 before finally hanging his boots for good in 2021. However, these instances came years apart while Stokes is not even the first England player to reverse an international retirement in the last three months. Let us take a look at some of the prominent cases in the recent spates of un-retirements.
1. Ben Stokes (Retired from ODI cricket in July 2022, named in England ODI squad in August 2023)
Ben Stokes’ retirement was one that sparked widespread debate about the future of ODI cricket itself. Stokes had only recently made England’s Test captain and the team was tearing conventional wisdom to shreds when it came to batting in the longest format but Stokes himself had said that playing in all three formats is “just unsustainable” for him. However, after the end of The Ashes this year speculation started coming up that Stokes might just reverse that decision to try and help England defend their World Cup title. He was the hero in the 2019 World Cup and sure enough, Stokes was included in the preliminary squad that England announced for the World Cup. He hasn’t exactly gone back on his “unsustainable” statement though, with the expectation being that it will be rare to see him bowl, as was the case throughout the Ashes.
2. Moeen Ali (Retired from Test cricket in September 2021, announced desire to come back in June 2022, reversed that decision in October 2022, returned to play in Ashes 2023, retired after the series)
As stated earlier, Stokes isn’t even the first England player to reverse a retirement in the last three months. That mantle goes to fellow all-rounder Moeen Ali, who had stepped down in the longest format after India’s incomplete tour in September 2021. He then revealed that he wants to be part of the England that toured Pakistan in December 2022 after a conversation with coach Brendon McCullum in June that year. However, after leading England to a 4-3 T20I series win in Pakistan in October 2022, Moeen said he doesn’t want to return for the Test series. Finally, he did come back in whites for the Ashes this year, standing in for the injured Jack Leach. He scored 180 runs in seven innings and took nine wickets as the series ended in a 2-2 draw. After the match, he confirmed that he has retired for good from the format this time.
3. Tamin Iqbal (Retired from international cricket on July 6, 2023, reverses decision on July 7, 2023)
Tamim Iqbal, one of the greatest batters to have come out of Bangladesh and their incumbent ODI captain, bid a teary goodbye in front of a crowd of reporters in Chattogram. This was just three months before the 2023 World Cup and came just a day after they lost to Bangladesh in the first of a three-match ODI series. “It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don’t want to mention here,” he said. Well whatever reasons that he didn’t mention there seem to have been addressed in the next 24 hours with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meeting him alongwith former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan. The very next day, there wasn’t a tear in Tamim’s eye or a frown on his face as he said that he was withdrawing his retirement. “I can say no to anyone but it is impossible to say no to the most important person in the country. Mashrafe bhai called me while Papon bhai [Hassan] was here. They were big factors [in the reversal]. The Prime Minister has also given me a break of a month and a half. I will complete my treatment and return to playing cricket,” he said.
4. Bhanuka Rajapaksha (Retired from international cricket on January 3, 2022, returned 10 days later)
Bhanuka Rajapaksha had cited “familial obligations” as a key reason when announcing his shock retirement from international cricket early in 2022, although there was speculation that he took his step after new fitness requirements were announced. Rajapaksha had fallen out with then-head coach Micky Arthur over his lack of fitness in 2021 after which he worked hard and returned to the national team. Soon after that SLC announced tougher fitness benchmarks starting from 2022. However, Rajapaksha reversed his decision just 10 days later after his meeting with Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. “Pursuant to a meeting with the Hon. Namal Rajapaksa – Minister of Youth & Sports and after consulting with the national selectors, Bhanuka Rajapaksa has notified SLC that he wishes to withdraw his resignation which he tendered to SLC on 3rd Jan. 2022, with immediate effect,” an SLC media release stated.
5. Manoj Tiwary (Retired on August 3, returned to play for Bengal for one more year on August 8)
Unlike the other players on this list, Manoj Tiwary’s decision is one that affected Indian domestic cricket as opposed to international cricket. Tiwary, who is the incumbent sports minister in the state of West Bengal, said that he was retiring from all forms of cricket on August 4. Four days later though, he said that he had a conversation with Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly to play the Ranji Trophy for one more year “So I thought about it. I spoke to my wife, and she convinced me too. She reminded me that I was the captain when Bengal reached the Ranji Trophy final last year. And then Raj da spoke to me, I thought about it and decided to come back. A lot of fans also wrote to me and asked me to reconsider my decision,” he said. Tiwary has played for India in an ODI in July 2015.
