Cricket can sometimes be a cruel game. An injury or a single bad patch can end the career of any player, irrespective of how talented they might be. Despite starting off brightly, many talented cricketers had to end with short international careers due to various factors.
Meanwhile, injuries on the field as well as off it are a part and parcel of every sport. Sportsmen are usually well-equipped to deal with them. Protective gear such as helmets, arm guards, abdomen guards are mandatory for every cricketer before he takes guard. At times, they run out of luck despite being fully protected. Careers of many cricketers were cut short due to injuries on the field while some had to bid farewell to their favourite sport due to health problems.
Here are some of the talented cricketers with short international careers due to various reasons:
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1. Vijay Bharadwaj
The talented batsman from Karnataka, Vijay Bhardwaj was considered to be one of those rare talents. After consistent scores in domestic cricket, Vijay was finally drafted into the Indian squad in 1999-2000. He scored a century on debut and continued his form throughout the series. He even won a man of the match award in his debut series.
However, we never saw Bharadwaj again in the national circuit. Some believe it was due to his differences with the board and some say it was due to a stretch of injuries. He finally announced his retirement in 2004 with three Tests and ten ODIs to his name.
Following his retirement, Bharadwaj was a part of the Karnataka first-class team as a coach and also was the assistant coach for RCB for three years. He has also served Oman cricket as a fielding coach.
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2. Craig Kieswetter
Kieswetter’s story is one of those unfortunate ones. He used to open the batting and don the wicket-keeper’s gloves for England. He was decent behind the stumps but when it came to batting, only a few can match his striking abilities.
But fate struck him when he received a jolt in his cheek and suffered a fractured cheek-bone while batting in a domestic match. He got himself a year off cricket. Then, he made a come-back to domestic cricket. After playing some games, he felt he could never be his old self again and decided to quit the game citing that he had some problems with his vision.
The Englishman could only represent his country in 46 ODIs and 25 T20Is. After Kieswetter’s retirement from cricket, his father suggested that he take a break and play some golf. He also participated in various tournaments.
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3. Basit Ali
The former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali always made batting look easy. Basit Ali was one of the cleanest stroke players of his era. Ali could nonchalantly take any attack to the cleaners, reminding spectators of Javed Miandad. Basit Ali never looked aggressive even during the most murderous of his moods.
However, the Karachi-born cricketer got himself stuck in the enigma of fixing and had to retire at the age of 25 after playing only 19 Tests and 50 ODIs. Recently, he shot to headlines with his outrageous comments. Basit recently questioned ICC over their biasness towards India which earned him severe criticisms from all quarters.
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4. Pommie Mbangwa
This name is a very familiar one in the commentary box; however, it never got familiar in the Zimbabwean dressing room. Pommie Mbangwa got a national call when he was only 19. He had good streaks in his early games but after a year or so, his bad patches stormed in.
He was in and out the team and soon after in 2002, he took up cricket commentary and has been doing that ever since. Mbangwa has become a household name in the commentary box with his commanding authority over words and making the game more exciting for the fans watching from their homes. The former Zimbabwe fast bowler also enjoys a great fan following in India and is a regular feature during the IPL.
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5. James Taylor
When things were going spot on, his health to fail. In 2016, James Taylor had to announce immediate retirement from cricket at only 26 due to a serious heart problem called arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
Taylor made his England debut in 2011 on the back of some serious scoring in County cricket. During his stint in international cricket, the Leicestershire-born batsman feature in seven Test matches and 27 ODIs. Taylor averaged over 42 in the limited-overs including seven fifties and one century.
However, the deadly injury cut short his cricketing career. Two years after his retirement he was appointed as a selector for the England team.