Hyderabad: When an athlete usually takes retirement from the sport he stops competing in the discipline professionally. But, Cricket has witnessed multiple occasions when a cricketer announced his retirement but took a U-turn and returned to the fold. There have been multiple players who have came back from retirement and the most notable name in the list includes Pakistan’s swashbuckling batter Shahid Afridi who was known for his big hits during his playing days.
Following is the list of cricketers who made a comeback after retirement
Javed Miandad (Pakistan): After being dropped from the national side in 1994, Pakistan’s wizard bid farewell to international cricket. The fans in the country wanted Miandad back in the side and the country’s Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto persuaded him to return to international cricket. The cricketer then returned to the national side in 1996.
Kevin Pietersen (England): Pietersen, who was known for his aggressive batting style announced his retirement from limited-overs with four months to go for the 2012 World T20. However, less than 60 days later he said that he would never say no to a comeback. The right-handed batter then played eight more ODIs and one more T20Is.
Imran Khan (Pakistan): The legendary skipper who led the national team to a World Cup triumph had decided to step away from the game after they lost against Australia in the 1987 World Cup semifinal. Later, he was asked to represent Pakistan by President Zia-ul-Haq and he obliged. His comeback was in a stunning manner as the all-rounder led his team to a World Cup win in 1992.
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): One of the most aggressive batters in the cricket world, Afridi retired from the sport record five times. He took retirement in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017. In 2006, 2011 and 2016, he made comebacks to the format.
Ben Stokes (England): Stokes announced his retirement from ODIs to concentrate on Test cricket initially but he returned to the format for the 2023 World Cup in India.
Moeen Ali (England): The England all-rounder retired from Test cricket in 2021 but returned to red-ball cricket for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Dwayne Bravo (West Indies): Bravo announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2015 and then in 2018 announced his retirement from international cricket. However, the Caribbean all-rounder took a U-turn from retirement and played for the country in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Mohammad Amir (Pakistan): Amir announced his retirement at the age of 28 in December 2020 but made a comeback after three and a half years of retirement. He had announced cited mental torture and dissatisfaction with management as his reasons.
