In the current era, we are witnessing cricketers announcing three different retirements. Earlier, when a cricketer announced his retirement, it meant he retired from all forms of the game and at times, that also included domestic cricket. However, in the T20 age, players prioritize formats accordingly and they retire one by one from each format. In 2023, as well, we saw many players hang up their boots in a single form of the game. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of four players who announced retirement from only one format in 2023.
1) David Warner – Tests
David Warner is one of the players who announced retirement from only one format in 2023. In the last two years, there were many doubts about Warner as a player. However, he helped Australia lift the T20 World Cup in 2021 and then the ODI World Cup in 2023.
That said, his Test career is not exactly at his best. Hence, taking a call, he decided to retire from the format after the Pakistan Test series. Even in this series, he started well. However, Warner will now focus on the white-ball formats to prolong his presence at the highest level.
2) Moeen Ali – Tests
Moeen Ali had announced his retirement from Tests before 2023. However, with Jack Leach injured, England needed an experienced spinner for the Ashes. Hence, Ben Stokes requested Moeen to take back his retirement. Moeen had a decent campaign, collecting some key wickets.
After the series, though, Moeen announced his retirement from Tests again. For the India series, England has a fresh set of spinners that includes the likes of Rehan Ahmed. It needs to be seen how they would perform.
3) Quinton de Kock – ODIs
QDK is also one of the players who announced retirement from only one format in 2023. The South African keeper surprised many when he announced his Test retirement a few years ago. Now, before the 2023 ODI World Cup, he dropped a shocker saying he would retire from ODIs, as well.
QDK had a solid outing in the World Cup. He finished as one of the highest run-getters in the competition. However, South Africa will have to prepare for life without him in the ODIs. For QDK, though, an extended career awaits in the T20 format. While he will be desperate to do well in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he will also want to do well in various T20 leagues across the world.
4) Naveen-ul-Haq – ODIs
One of the most shocking retirements in 2023 came from Afghanistan. Just around 25 years old, Afghanistan’s talented pacer Naveen-ul-Haq decided that he would be stepping aside from the ODI format. This decision was a clue as to how players are treating the ODI format.
With Afghanistan not playing a lot of Tests, for Naveen, the focus will be completely on the T20 format. He is a fine bowler and if he can do well, he will continue to extract more demand from franchises. That said, he might have to first sort his issues with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) for that.
