Looking at the rising standards of all formats in the recent past, it would not be wrong to say that it is not easy for players to give their best in every format in today’s time. There have been many cricketers who had prematurely retired from one or two formats to establish themselves in one or two formats.
The biggest example of this is former Indian captain and wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni. Dhoni had earlier said goodbye to Tests and played white ball cricket for many years after that.
Recently, England’s Test captain Ben Stokes retired from ODIs saying that he is not able to give his 100 percent in this format. The pressure on the players is also increasing continuously due to the hectic schedule.
Today, in this article, we take a look at 3 popular players who may retire from one format due to workload and hectic schedule.
Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson, the current captain of the New Zealand and a batsman in the ‘Fab Four’ of world cricket, has not been able to perform in his batting for the last few months due to an elbow injury. Kane Williamson’s style of play is better for ODI and Test cricket.
His approach in the shorter format has also been under question for some time now. In such a situation, keeping in mind his fitness and form, the veteran can say goodbye to the shorter format soon so that he gets time to manage his fitness in the busy schedule.
Trent Boult
New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult has been representing his team in all formats for almost 10 years and his bowling is also getting better with time. Bolt has been consistently performing well in all three formats.
Trent Boult’s growing age may force him to retire from Test cricket. Bolt is 33 years old and it can be difficult to maintain consistency in the longer format with increasing age. In such a situation, it should not be surprising if this bowler says goodbye to red ball cricket in the coming times.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, the former captain of the Indian team and the great batsman who was named the ICC Cricketer of the Decade of the last decade, has been battling with his poor form for the last few years. Virat Kohli, who once ruled the world with his bat in all three formats, looks right in ODIs and Tests but his batting in the shorter formats is under question.
There is still a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli, who is second in terms of most runs in T20 for India after Rohit Sharma and third among all batsmen in the world. Virat may say goodbye to the shorter format to prolong his career in the coming times. He has taken frequent breaks for some time now, which shows that it is becoming a bit difficult for him to play continuously now.