The year 2020 was one of the dreadful years of all cricket fans, first being the world wide lockdown being put into place due to the Novel coronavirus disease and then with very little cricket being played throughout 2020, it was one of those not so happy years for cricket fans.
In the same year, we also witnessed the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Elton Chigumbura and Parthiv Patel announce retirement from the game.
As we edge into 2021, there are a few Indian players who’re likely to announce retirement this year. While some will be retiring as they’re nearing the 40s whereas some will retire in order to play in foreign leagues all around the World.
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Today, we take a look at five such players who’re likely to announce retirement in 2021:
1. Amit Mishra
The leg spinner from Haryana has been around in the Indian system for the last 20 years. Amit Mishra won the man of the match and the man of the series award in his last appearance for the Indian side. But due to the presence of Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja in the side, Mishra didn’t always get the nod ahead especially in the test format.
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It’s unfortunate that Amit Mishra featured in far fewer matches for the Indian side than he should have. Though he continues playing for his stateside in the domestic competitions and recently represented the Delhi Capitals side in the 2020 IPL where he scalped 3 wickets in 3 matches at an impressive economy of 7.20 before getting ruled out due to an injury.
It is fairly likely that Mishra might just call it a day in order to feature in foreign T20 leagues just like Pravin Tambe.
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2. Harbhajan Singh
The first Indian spinner to pick a hattrick in tests for the Indian side was an integral part of the Indian side right from the year 2003. But the emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin struck post-2011, it resulted in Harbhajan Singh, unfortunately, costing his place in the Indian side. The last time Harbhajan Singh was a part of the Indian side was during the 2016 Asia Cup after which he was dropped from the side.
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Harbhajan Singh last played a match in the 2019 IPL as he decided to withdraw from the 2020 IPL citing personal reasons. With it being unlikely that Chennai Super Kings will retain Harbhajan Singh, by all means, we can assume that Harbhajan Singh might hang his boots this year to ply a trade in the foreign T20 leagues like the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.
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3. Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav has been around the Indian side since 2014, after debuting against Sri Lanka in the same year Kedar Jadhav had made a name for himself in the domestic circuit for Maharashtra. After which in the year 2016, Kedar Jadhav played a fiery knock of 120 runs against England over shadowing Virat Kohli in the same game.
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Many touted Kedar Jadhav to accompany MS Dhoni in the finishing role for his ability to strike the ball. But in the 2019 World Cup Kedar Jadhav had a horror show as he scored just 80 runs in 6 matches which led to his ouster from the one dayside. In the follow-up even during the 2020 IPL season for Chennai Super Kings, Jadhav scored had a disappointing season as he scored just 62 runs in 8 matches which led to him getting dropped in the second half of the tournament.
Now in the year 2021, Jadhav will be soon turning 36 years old which is why we can predict the Marathi boy’s retirement from the game very soon. With the amount of Jadhav has in his luggage he can surely try for a stint in foreign leagues post-retirement.
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4. Dinesh Karthik
The career of Dinesh Karthik has been fairly an unfortunate one, after bursting into the international arena in early 2000, he was soon replaced by the more capable MS Dhoni. Though Karthik’s career wasn’t termed over, he continued to shine and rise for his state side Tamil Nadu.
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He is infamously remembered for the sparkling finish against Bangladesh in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy Final where Karthik smashed 22 of the final over to seal the trophy for India. But even after giving consistent performances for the Indian team in the shortest format, Karthik failed to be India’s first-choice keeper in the presence of MS Dhoni.
Even after MS Dhoni’s retirement, the team management picked Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the successors of the long-serving wicketkeeper. With Karthik’s career with the Indian team almost seemed over, it’s possible that Karthik might decide to hang his boots this year.
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5. Stuart Binny
Karnataka’s Stuart Binny has seen the best and worst in his bit-sized international career for Team India. The latter was picked ahead of the likes of Irfan Pathan for the all rounder’s role in the 2015 World Cup squad, though he was part of the 15 man squad, Binny failed to find a place in the playing XI throughout the tournament.
His career came to a tragic end due to his consistency with both bat and ball, after Lewis tonked Binny for 5 sixes in an over in a T20 against West Indies, many questions were raised on the performance of Binny after which he failed to find a place in the Indian team thereafter.
Even in the IPL, franchises aren’t keen on buying Stuart Binny as he went unsold in the 2020 IPL Season. With Binny unlikely to play in the IPL the all-rounder can look to play in the foreign T20 leagues across the World just like Manpreet Gony, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel.
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