Ten days have passed since the epic match between England and New Zealand that culminated in what was a tournament to remember for a lifetime. The mega event has drawn curtains over the careers of many experienced players from many countries who’ve decided to hang up their boots after representing their country at the biggest stage.

As the focus now slowly shifts to the next global ICC tournament which is the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15 next year, here is the list of 5 players who might retire after the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup.

1. Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

During one of the captain’s conferences when Australia toured South Africa for the limited-overs leg in November 2018, Faf du Plessis had revealed some of his plans that he had regarding his retirement from the game.

He indicated that the T20 World Cup in 2020 might be his last international assignment. After a rather abysmal Protea performance in the 50 over World Cup 2019, Faf Du Plessis’ team showed signs of what can they achieve when their team is able to click as a collective unit in their last group stage match against Australia.

With the T20 World Cup still 15 months away, Faf and Co. still have time to make amends, see what would work for them and correct the wrongs. Being the astute captain that he’s been for South Africa all these years, winning so many bilateral series authoritatively, a good performance in the T20 World Cup would be the ideal farewell to someone who’s contributed so much for South African cricket.

2. Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

In January 2019, New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has revealed his retirement plans. Taylor said he loves playing for New Zealand and will not prefer to play in different T20 leagues across the globe. The right-handed batsman has done a great job for the Kiwis and said that playing for different franchises is not what he plans on doing at any time in the future as he priorities to play for the Black Caps for as long as possible.

Meanwhile, Ross Taylor also played in the Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. The Kiwi batsman had received bundles of collective admiration and love by the fans, who embraced him as their own in the country where cricket is a religion, he says.
The right-hander who has scored 20 ODI hundred for the New Zealand team revealed he doesn’t have any immediate plans of hanging his boots.

But aged 35, time is not at his side as even though he enjoyed a sublime form in the 50 overs format coming into the World Cup, he wasn’t able to replicate his form where his team came agonisingly close to lift their maiden trophy. His voluntary decision to not take part in various T20 leagues around the world might narrow down his focus on the T20 World Cup next year where a good performance can only

enhance the Kiwis’ chances to go one step further than what they’ve managed to reach in the previous two editions of the 50 over World Cup. And that would definitely be the memory he’d like to take along with him before he retires.

3. Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)

On 18 February, Chris Gayle had announced the World Cup would be the last time he played ODIs for West Indies. But it seems that he has changed his mind and wants to turn up for the Windies one last time in the home series against India. Gayle had scored 2 half-centuries in England during the World Cup but has not been at the decimating form that he’s known for.

“It’s still not the end. I still have a few games to go. May be another series to go, as well. Who knows, we will see what happens. My plans after the World Cup? I may play a Test match against India and then I will definitely play the ODIs against India. I won’t play the T20s. That’s my plan after the World Cup,” Gayle said in one of the conferences that he’d attended during the marquee event in England.

If there’s one thing that we know for sure about the Universe Boss, it’s that nothing is assured.
Who knows he might have a great ODI series like the one he had earlier in the year while staging his comeback to ODI cricket against the best ODI team in the world, England. The conditions would be ideal for him to play his own brand of cricket and as he’s said himself, it’s not the end.

There are high chances that he stretches himself long enough till the T20 World Cup where the Caribbean would be seen defending their title. Chris Gayle would play an instrumental role and maybe, just maybe he might add yet another feather to his already very decorated hat.

4. Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Owing to his ordinary performances in the 50 over format and in the recently concluded World Cup, where he made only three appearances which yielded a meagre 8 runs with two ducks, he’s decided to call it a day as far as the ODI format is concerned, but he’s said he’d continue with to play the T20 format as long as he can.

What works for the 37-year-old is his experience of playing in various T20 leagues around the world, with and against many cricketers that would provide him with an edge when he donned the Pakistan colours for the T20 World Cup next year.

In 111 T20 internationals for Pakistan, he’s among the all-time top run-getters in the T20I format, with 2263 runs at an average above 30 and a strike rate just under 125. All these numbers augur well for the only international player, along with only Chris Gayle, among all others, to still be playing after making their debut in the previous millennium. Pakistan is the top-ranked T20 team for quite some time now.

It’s a good mix of youth and experience for the T20 World Cup that could well be the last appearance for Shoaib Malik in Pakistan colours. 

5. Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews. (Photo Source: Twitter)

A lot has not been going well for former Sri Lanka captain of all formats — Angelo Mathews when once he’d even gone to the extent of threatening to retire after in his words, he was made the scapegoat for all the problems pertaining to Sri Lankan cricket’s very ordinary performances in the past few years post the Sanga-Mahela saga.

He managed just 131 runs in the World Cup 2019 with just one fifty in six visits to the crease. Not only has he said that he has no retirement plans post the World Cup, but he’s also mentioned that he’s looking forward to reinventing himself as a cricketer by opting to bowl again, something that he’d not done for the past few years. Being the senior-most member of a team that’s going through one of it’s most rough transition periods, Angelo Mathews needs to take the onus on himself to lead with an example for the youngsters to follow.

In 72 T20 appearances for the island nation, he has scored more than 1000 runs at a strike rate of 118.14, an aspect of his game that he needs to work upon to flourish in the shortest format of the game. His economy is a miserly 6.82 in T20 internationals that would help his case of bowling.

Similar to the farewell that Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene was given when the team had won the T20 World Cup in 2014, Angelo Mathews would hope his team to go far in their next year campaign as well. Only then will Angelo Mathews feel the team is replete to take the Sri Lankan legacy forward if he chooses to hang his boots.

~ Written by Dwaipayan Mukherjee