10 Big-Name Players Who Could Retire from International Cricket in 2015
The current cycle of 50-over cricket reaches its climax in March when the latest World Cup winner will be crowned. Throw in an Ashes series and its seems likely that 2015 will be a year in which a number of notable players decide to announce their retirement from international cricket.
Our list of potential retirees only includes players expected to call it quits in all forms of the international game.
Shahid Afridi will retire from ODIs after the World Cup but will continue in T20s. Kumar Sangakkara's mooted Test retirement also looks like being shelved following his recent double-century against New Zealand. They don't feature.
Read on to see who we do expect to be hanging up their batting gloves and bowling spikes in 2015.
Michael Clarke
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The spirit of Michael Clarke is still willing but the flesh is becoming increasingly weak. The Australian captain has suffered from a succession of back and related hamstring problems, the latest of which forced him out of the recent Test series against India.
The 33-year-old is still hopeful of returning for the 2015 World Cup and the Ashes in England. If his body can't cope with the strain, his premature stint in the Channel Nine commentary box could become a permanent one.
Daniel Vettori
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Daniel Vettori bowed out of the Test game in style, helping New Zealand thrash Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs in Sharjah in November.
The veteran spinner will be hoping to repeat the trick in the one-day game with a World Cup swansong.
The latter part of the 35-year-old's international career has been beset by injury. When fit, he's been one of the most reliable spinners in the game and turned himself into a more than useful lower-order batsman.
World Cup glory on home turf would be a fitting finale to Vettori's 18-year career.
Ryan Harris
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If Ryan Harris had a sturdier body, he'd have far more than 111 Test wickets to his name. With a World Cup call-up unlikely, it looks like he'll be wrapped up in cotton wool until the 2015 Ashes.
If the Australians do go on to win in England, Harris could conceivably call it quits at the top, especially if his injury jinx strikes again.
With the likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood knocking on the door, there could be a changing of the Australian pace guard later this year.
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Misbah-Ul-Haq
4 of 10Amid the chaos that has beset Pakistani cricket in recent years, one man more than most has helped them regain international respectability.
Captain Misbah-ul-Haq may be approaching 41 but remains a class act at the crease and pulling the captaincy strings.
A career Test strike rate of 43 runs per 100 balls gave no hint of what lay in store for Australia's bowlers in Sharjah in November. A 56-ball century inked Misbah's name in the record books alongside Sir Viv Richards.
Pakistan were crowned world champions the last time the World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand in 1992. Their 39-year-old captain Imran Khan bowed out of top after a spectacular win over England. Misbah will no doubt be hoping history repeats itself.
Mahela Jayawardene
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Sri Lankan stalwart Mahela Jayawardene pulled the curtain down on his international T20 career with victory over India in April's World T20 finale.
He managed a win in his farewell Test against Pakistan in August. The stage is set for the 37-year-old to make it a hat-trick of winning exits at the World Cup.
Jayawardene has been a mainstay of the Sri Lankan middle-order since his debut against India in 1997. He will leave a huge hole when he does finally call it quits.
Brad Haddin
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With the World Cup on home turf followed by an Ashes defence in England, 2015 is shaping up to be a big year for the Australians.
Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has hinted that it could also be the end of his international ambitions.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald, “We've got a big schedule with the World Cup and Ashes and they're as big a carrot as you can have put in front of you from a cricketer's point of view. I'd like to be part of that, after that it'd be fair enough to say it's pretty close to the end there."
A typically tough Aussie, Haddin's feisty attitude and lower order runs will be tough to replace.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
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Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the last remaining link to the glory days of West Indies cricket, will be 41 in August. It's amazing to think that a player still plying his trade in 2015 played alongside Desmond Haynes, who made his Test debut in 1978!
The left-hander has shown no signs of slowing down, though, despite his veteran status. The Guyanese batsman averaged 71 in 2014. He can't be expected to carry on forever, though.
With a dearth of Test class batsmen to boost the West Indian ranks, Chanderpaul could remain in situ for a while yet.
Chris Rogers
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It appears that Australia will be looking for a new opening batsman later this year. Veteran Chris Rogers has hinted that he'll be calling time on his international career in 2015.
The 37-year-old told Cricket Australia, "You never say never but I kind of looked at the future and thought the England series and what England has meant for me would be a nice way to finish, so hopefully I can get through to the Ashes”.
After making his Test debut in 2008, Rogers had to wait until 2013 to win his second cap. He has made the most of that highly unlikely opportunity.
Tillakaratne Dilshan
9 of 10It looks like there could be a major upheaval in the Sri Lankan batting ranks in 2015. Mahela Jayawardene is set to retire from all forms of the international game with Kumar Sangakkara potentially focusing his attention solely on Tests.
A third member of Sri Lanka's high-class top order could also be heading for the international exit. Tillakaratne Dilshan retired from Tests in 2013 and it's probable that he'll bid farewell to the ODI and T20 game later this year.
Dilshan, now 38, turned back the clock by scoring a century in his last ODI outing against England in Sri Lanka.
With a shot named in his honour, the 38-year-old Dilshan's place in cricketing history is already assured.
MS Dhoni
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MS Dhoni has already handed over the reins of the Indian Test team to Virat Kohli. It's likely that he'll do the same in the 50-over game following this year's World Cup.
The pressures of captaining India have taken their toll on the 33-year-old, who failed to reached three figures in his final 28 Test innings. The hair and beard are taking an increasingly grey tinge.
Dhoni remains one of the premier limited-overs players in the world, though. If India enjoy another successful World Cup campaign, Dhoni could pass the one-day baton onto the future generation.
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