Top 10 Cricketers Who Retired Too Early

Leaving your favorite game is very painful especially when you are on the top of your career.it can happen because of an injury, an accident or due to some controversial activity. There have been instances when talented cricketers have not been able to play at an international level, while mediocre players have gone on to represent their country for years.In this list, we have batsmen, fielders, wicket keepers and fast bowlers who had good career ahead of them but they had to leave the game early. Let's take a look at those players and their journey.

Travis Friend - Zimbabwe

Travis was a good fast bowler from Zimbabwe who played his first match against India in 2001. In 2005, there was a clash between board officials and the players regarding their contracts. Travis was one of the 15 players who rebelled. He didn't take retirement officially but left Zimbabwe and joined Derbyshire in order to continue his first class career.

Craig Kieswetter - England

Craig was a good wicket - keeper and hard hitting batsman who was the player of the final of 2010 world T 20. He made his international debut at the age of 22 and retired in 2015 when he was 27 due to some serious facial injuries after struck by a bouncer on the face in 2014. it forced him into retirement.

Saba Karim - India

Syed Saba Karim was the part of the Indian cricket team on the tour of West Indies in 1989 but unluckily didn't played any game. Besides being a right-handed batsman, he was also a wicket-keeper. He played his international debut match in 1996 against South Africa and scored 55. but after that great start, he made only 49 runs in the next eight innings. In 2000, he got an eye injury while keeping to Kumble during the Asia Cup Dhaka, he had to undergo a surgery but after that he couldn't came back to game.

Zafar Ansari - England

Ansari was an English spin bowler and a promising all - rounder who made his test debut in 2017. only a few months later, he announced his retirement. according to him he wanted to pursue other opportunities and was contemplating a career in law."Cricket is not the end for me. My life isn't directed towards it. Cricket is a part of my life." Ansari said.

George Thoms - Australia

There is an interesting fact about Thoms that he was a trained gynecologist as well as a cricketer. Right handed George played only one test match for Australia. He quit cricket at the age of 27, for fear of sustaining a hand injury which would have finished his career as a surgeon. His debut match was against West Indies in 1952 in which he scored 16 and 28. After taking retirement, he became a surgeon and he was the one who introduced the concept of laser surgery in 70's.

Mark Boucher - South Africa

43 year old Boucher is the great example of a hard working cricketer. He played his debut test match against Pakistan in 1997 when he joined the team as a replacement of for the injured Dave Richardson. He played 3 World Cups, more than 100 test matches and 200 plus ODIs. He  was largely instrumental in South Africa's journey to becoming one of the best Test teams of all times. on 9 july 2012, he got an eye injury during a warm up match and he had to undergo a surgery and was ruled out of the tour. Boucher was planning to retire after the series but was forced to quit all forms of cricket on 10 july 2012.

Shane Bond - New Zealand

Bond was a great fast bowler. Kiwis won 10 of the 18 Tests Bond played in. Due to his furious pace and deadly yorkers he would have become one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He could swing the ball both ways at genuine pace. Bond was the first ever quick to break the 150kph barrier. but his career was full of injuries. he had severe back injury and he couldn't recover from that. in 2003 world cup, he took 17 wickets at a average of 17.94. Due to injuries, Bond retired from Test cricket in 2009 at the age of 34.

Michael Clarke - Australia

Clarke was a batsman of perfect talent.He made his debut in ODI in 2003 and in test cricket against India in 2004. in 2011, he became captain after Rickey Ponting and scored 12 centuries in his first 30 tests as a captain.In spite of the cons, Clarke's contribution to Australian cricket as well as international cricket was immense. After the death of Phil Hughes in 2014, his close friend, had a huge impact on Michael's career. He was totally shattered. At the age of 34, in 2015 he announced his retirement from International Cricket.

Kevin Pietersen - England

Kevin was born in South Africa but chose to play from England. He made his test debut in 2005 against Australia. He scored 14000 international runs, delivered four Ashes win and a first ICC world trophy. For many England cricket fans, Kevin Pietersen is the greatest batsman they have ever seen. His brilliant international career was brought to a premature end in 2014 at the age of 33.

Hansie Cronje - South Africa

If there would be a tragic story in cricket, Cronje would be the best example of it. Hansie was not just the captain of the South African side, he was a natural leader. He was an all rounder and an ideal captain. Cronje lead South Africa in 53 tests and 138 ODIs. But this excellent cricketer's career has been tragically end when he caught in an match fixing scandal. He admitted his crime and got a lifetime ban in 2000. Two years later Hansie Cronje died in a plane crash that many believe was a pre-planned accident.