Magazine : 
10 Cricket Legends Who Called it A Day in 2015
BANGALORE: Cricket is a game for some and a religion for others. Over the years, the game has grown in world wide popularity and we can see more & more nations coming out and showcasing their cricketing skills. Apart from the unfortunate death of Phill Huges , 2015 can be rated as one among the most remarkable years in the history of the game—a thrilling world cup encounter and bidding farewell to some of the legendary cricketers . Let us take a look at some of such players who are retiring from either Test or ODI cricket in this year as compiled by SPORTSGOOGLY.
Michael Clarke
In 2003 when Michael John Clarke made his debut into international cricket against England the world saw the rise of Ricky Ponting’s successor. The right-handed middle-order batsman and an occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler; he had worked his charm on and off the field and conquered millions of hearts. He is widely considered to be one of Australia’s greatest ever batsmen with 8,643 runs in Tests and 7,981 runs in ODI cricket. After leading his team to the 5th world cup win for the country the 34 year old announced his retirement on 8th August 2015 and retired from the game after the Ashes Series.
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is referred to as one of the most influential cricketers in the history of the game. The legendry cricketer from Sri Lanka stands second to Sachin Tendulkar with most international runs with 28,016. He also holds numerous batting records of modern era for formidable partnerships with another Sri Lankan batting legend Mahela Jayawardne. The former Sri Lankan captain and wicket keeping batsmen also holds the record for most wicketkeeping dismissals in ODI cricket. He announced his retirement from international cricket on 24th August 2015 after the series against India.
Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori the former captain of New Zealand has also announced his retirement from the game after losing the world cup finals against Australia in 2015. He made his test debut at the age of 18 which makes him the youngest player to play the game for New Zealand. The spin magician of kiwis is one among the 8 players in Test history to take 300 wickets and score 3,000 runs. The 36 year old all-rounder finally put an end to his 18 year long glorious international cricketing career but will be continuing as the head coach of IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Misbah Ul Haq
Widely known as the ‘one man army’ the current Test captain of the Pakistan team Misbah Ul Haq is known for his standout performances in the crucial matches for the country. He led the team through a disastrous phase of Pakistani cricket and showed the world that what the team is capable of. He has announced his retirement from ODI cricket right after the crushing exit of the team from 2015 world cup. The fastest test century scorer will remain as the top scorer in ODI cricket among those players who haven't scored a century in ODI.
Mahela Jayawardne
Another cricketing legend from Sri Lanka Mahela Jayawardne has signed off from the field this year. He has been widely regarded as one of the cricketing legends due to his masterful batting techniques and is regarded as one of the best batsman against spin bowlers. The former Sri Lankan captain has scored 12,650 runs in Test and 11,814 runs in ODI cricket. He also has 51 centuries on his name from both formats. On 14th July 2014 he announced his retirement from test cricket after the 2014 Pakistan series and retired from ODI cricket after the exit off Sri Lankan team in the quarter finals of world cup 2015.
Shahid Afridi
Afridi is regarded as one of the greatest big-hitting cricketers of all time, where he has the longest six in any form of the game. The Pakistani cricketing legend is known for his aggressive style of playing and killer looks. He will be leading the team in the upcoming T20 world cup in India. The 35 year old all-rounder has announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the quarterfinals of world cup 2015. The game will surely miss one among the greatest entertainers it has ever seen.
MS Dhoni
The most successful captain and arguably the best captain Indian cricket ever had Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s retirement announcement from Test cricket came as a shock to his fans. The current captain and wicketkeeping batsmen of India in limited over cricket MSD is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket. Under his captaincy India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the CB Series of 2007–08, the 2010 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and became number one in the ICC Test rankings.
Brendon Tylor
The former Zimbabwe captain Brendon Tylor announced his retirement at a young age of 29 after a glorious career of 11 years. He captained Zimbabwe in ODIs until 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. He became the first Zimbabwean batsman to hit back-to-back One-Day International centuries achieved against New Zealand in October 2011. He repeated the feat again at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. He played his last game for Zimbabwe on 15 March 2015 against India and ended with a magnificent century.
Virender Sehwag
One of the most crucial batsmen the game has ever witnessed Virender Sehwag; the former Indian opener announced his retirement from international cricket on 20th October 2015. Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket, which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket. He also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul.
Zaheer Khan
Known for his hostile seam and pace bowling, especially fast inch-perfect Yorkers, Zaheer Khan is one of the most celebrated pace bowlers in the history of Indian cricket. His ability to "move the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at same pace" gave him a permanent spot in the team. He was one among the essential players who helped India to win 2011 world cup. He has 282 ODI and 311 test wickets in his name including 12 five wicket haul and one ten wicket haul. He announced his retirement from international and first class cricket on 15th October 2015.
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