Whose retirement hurt you the most?

[kingusama92]

Everyone has a favourite player they grow up watching. A player they defend regardless of how he's doing.

Cricinfo stats will be used to defend positions, Cricinfo stats will be degraded to defend positions.

Yet, all debates lose out to time.

Players have to retire as age catches up to them. Which player's retirement hurt you the most?

---------------

Personally, I felt Inzamam ul Haq's retirement the most.

I didn't get to see much of Wasim and/or Waqar before their retirements. The attachment was not as deep. However, Inzamam's career had been quite a big part of my childhood.

Mr. Clutch under pressure.

I still miss his batting at #5, especially when we are chasing totals in ODIs.

 

[Azlan Khan]

Afridi's retirement from test.

 

[kingusama92]

Afridi's retirement from test.

Yes, that was a tough loss emotionally.

 

[sajjad786]

yup inzi bhai it was great player

 

[Down2Earth]

I remember growing up watching wasim bowl for over a decade and I couldn't believe when he retired and he was no longer in the team. It didn't feel the same. Akhtar's retirement had a similar effect on me. Inzi's retirement was long overdue so didn't really care.

 

[style_guru]

Country wise:-

Warnie, Mcgrath, Langer and Steven Waugh from Australia. All these blokes were my role models.

Wasim's was an emotional one too, mainly because how he was treated towards the fag end of his career.

Shaun pollock was another bloke I wanted to see playin forever. Hansie was my hero, and will always be. Other then his fixing fiasco.


Alec stewart from England. I had the privilege to bowl to him once, as a kid.

Ambrose from W.I. The day he retired at the Oval, I literally had tears in my eyes. I wanted W.I to win that match, just for the sake of the great man. But destiny had other plans. And yeah, who could forget his famous words, "Curtly talk to no man".

Martin crowe from NZ. I was a big fan of him and it was sad to see his career cut short due to injuries.

SL batsman Roshan Mahanama's retirement hurt me a lot post 1999 WC. His book 'Retired hurt' reflects the dirty side of politics indulged in sports.

Anil Kumble from India was another bloke whose retirement hurt me. Kapil, Gavaskar were the other blokes whom I wanted to see playing for more time.

But, to top this all, Mark Boucher's recent retirement had left me stunned. Winning in England and attaining the no. 1 rank was his dream, which was cut short not due to lack of performances, but due to sheer bad luck.

 

[RehanG]

Inzi's

Shoaib's

Waqar retired...altough i always believed he should have had retired earlier and with bit more respect..

 

[Maximas]

Except Darren Lehman & Justin Langer, every recent Ausie retirements starting Shane Warne upto Lee, all looked early to me. These cost them the total domination of world cricket, gone to nowhere from #1.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Nathan Astle.

 

[ElRaja]

saeed anwar, had much more to give, 3 or 4 years still.

 

[umerz]

Javed Miandad's retirement

 

[IgnitedMind]

Sourav Ganguly.... I started watching Cricket seriously with the arrival of Sourav Ganguly.... I was known as a Ganguly freak....my room were filled with his posters....I used to argue day and night with friends(sach and dravid fans) at school .....

With his retirement....I suddenly felt the end of my childhood. I do not think I will ever like any cricketer as passionately....

 

[Luton Bad Boy]

I think Sachin Tendulkar is the one player whose retirement will have reprecussions for the whole of world cricket

Others such as Dravid, Laxman, Inzi, Miandad, McGrath, Warne etc affected their countries but, with Sachin retired it may well mean that interest is lost from the indian public and worldwide public

The baton has not been passed onto to his successor (not Kohli) and there is a danger his retirement may well saturate the game of cricket to only T20

 

[Justcrazy]

Saeed Anwar , it was sad , he could have played another 3 years at least.

 

[truthseer]

Boucher

 

[Wasim_Waqar]

Saeed, Wasim, Waqar, Inzi...and Boucher recently

 

[Stewie]

Warne, Wasim, Lara

The three all time best cricketers in the history of the game in my opinion.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I think Sachin Tendulkar is the one player whose retirement will have reprecussions for the whole of world cricket

Gonna be tough for a lot of people. I'd be probably be crying somewhere.

 

[leatherface58]

despite the chucking and all allegations, he was a genuinely nice guy.

 

[leatherface58]

no controversies on his attitude and parties etc.

 

[Poison]

Inzi ... I legit nearly cried when he was walking off after that Zimbabwe game. His Test retirement wasn't as bad, especially with the hilarious bat throw in the dressing room afterwards

 

[praveen]

Bcl

 

[withlovefrom vizag]

ganguly's retirement and even VVS one

both retired in difficult circumstances...........

 

[Bowled 'im]

If politics didn't play such a big part in cricket, Shane Warne would have captained Australia - and still be playing ........ maybe

 

[Yuri]

I don't even want to think about Sachin's retirement. He is one big reason why I am still hooked on to cricket.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Dravid.

Grown up watching him take India out of trouble from poor starts in test, integral part of some of our 'away' test wins. His time was up but the feel of watching Indian test team wont be same anymore without him.

 

[Bublu Bhuyan]

If politics didn't play such a big part in cricket, Shane Warne would have captained Australia - and still be playing ........ maybe

He was set to lead Australia after Steve Waugh's retirement. It's his text message scandal that made the CA change their mind and hand it over to Ponting.

 

[SOSami]

When he was playing, I would fear the day he wasn't there anymore. If ever there was a one-man batting line-up, it was the one with Inzi in it. We had replaced Wasim and Waqar, but I don't think Pakistan will ever find another Inzamam.

Colossus.

 

[Sandeep]

I can't imagine how ppl would react when Sachin retires!! Getting emotional at the very thought..
Maybe he should just stop playing test matches too like the ODIs and walk away unnoticed!!
Never retire Sachin !

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

Shane Bond's retirement.

Allan Donald
Rahul Dravid
Glen McGrath
Alec Stewart
Nathan Asle
Shoaib AKhtar
Arvinda D'Silva
Andy Flower
Brian Lara

I am also hurt with Ponting's decline and retirement talk.

 

[kungfu90]

Ganguly and Kumble played their last together. It was double blow for me. One was our best test match bowler, another greatest captain.

 

[LegCutter]

Inzi hands down. The most emotional of the retirements, Akhtar could have been there but it was ruined by Akmal's heroics vs NZ, and the whooping we got at Mohali.

 

[Asif321]

............ miss him

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Inzi and steve waugh

 

[Inherent Ignorance]

retirements do not hurt me. It is part of life. Nothing lasts forever.

 

[blackanhyellow]

Mohammad yousaf's forced retirement. Even though he's not actually retired officially and still wants to play.

 

[Saqs]

Lara.
I practically grew up watching this dude. Massive loss.

Next biggest was definitely Anwar and also Shoaib. Irreplaceable for us.

 

[DHONI183]

Inzamam-ul-Haq, particularly in the ODIs, when he was walking off with tears in his eyes against Zimbabwe in 2007 World Cup. The situation was such, with Pakistan already being out of the tournament after an embarrassing loss to Ireland and then the tragic death of Bob Wolmer, that one could simply not see it all.

My mother was such a huge fan of him that we recorded the whole seven-eight hours match. Needless to say that we couldn´t quite ever watch the recording considering the emotions attached to it.

Brian Lara comes to my mind. His last match in the 2007 World Cup against England was a thriller which they lost. Him telling at the presentation ceremony that he loved his 277 at Sydney in 1993 so much that he named his daughter 'Sydney' was very precious.

And now VVS Laxman is the latest one.

 

[Yuri]

i can't imagine how ppl would react when sachin retires!! Getting emotional at the very thought..
Maybe he should just stop playing test matches too like the odis and walk away unnoticed!!
never retire sachin !

+1
I bet Pak fans will miss bashing too

 

[akamaka]

When i saw the thread title, first name that came up was Inzamam! The man's ODI and Test retirements were very emotional, not the way the great man should have gone

 

[Saurav]

Kumble n Dravid

among foreign players,Gilchrist,Warne,Lara,Pollock.

 

[Anwar_194]

Wasim wasim wasim

 

[saj001]

Inzy, Lara and Akhtar.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I can't imagine how ppl would react when Sachin retires!! Getting emotional at the very thought..
Maybe he should just stop playing test matches too like the ODIs and walk away unnoticed!!
Never retire Sachin !

Our drainage system will put to test that day.

 

[IndianWillow]

During recent times, Dravid of course, though it was clear that he was loosing his game and did the wise thing. Rewind to old times, it was Kapil Dev, followed by Ravi Shastri. Gavaskar's retirment also filled me with thoughts on how he would be replaced, but Manjrekar and Tendu put that to rest rather quickly.

 

[Black Zero]

Inzi
and
Shehbaz Senior

I still cry every night ...

 

[cricketworm]

Dravid, Gangs, Kumble and VVS.

From purely cricketing pov: Kumble

 

[waqar_ahmad]

Imran Khan.

I didnt really watch much of him, neither did I understand cricket much back then coz I was so young.

But when he retired after the 92 WC, I didnt watch cricket for a while.

And I was happy when Wasim retired

 

[haseebbabar]

in no particular order:

inzi
shoaib
kumble
laxman
warnie
hayden
bond
stephen flemming

 

[sunnykhan]

I felt for Freddie Flintoff the most. What a terrific player he was.

 

[Statsman]

Laxman and Dravid batting at their prime facing Warne, McGrath, and co.

What a sight it was.

All have retired now.

It's an end of an era with only Sachin, Kallis, Ponting and a few others left.

Each and every retirement hurts.

 

[Inswinger]

Has to be Inzamam-ul-Haq. I started watching cricket during the 2003 World Cup so didn't get to watch the likes of Wasim, Waqar, Anwar, etc enough to be affected much by their retirement. But Inzi was a legend for me. He was a difference maker in the Pakistani team and his retirement really hurt Pakistan.

 

[Marshland]

Shane Bond.

 

[Inswinger]

Seems like Inzi is the top vote getter amongst Pakistanis.

 

[trogger]

Warne, we will find another mcgrath one day we will find another ponting but warne isn't just a once in a lifetime spinner he was quite possibly just a one of a kind and we can more than likely never replace him.

 

[Green Leopard]

Inzi simply becoz our batting has gone just downhill since his departure.

Outside Pakistan cricket, has to be Gilchrist for me, would stay-up all night to watch his batting, hated it when he didn't click. Also a great ambassador for cricket.

 

[Saj]

Agree with KU regarding Inzamam as there has never really been a replacement for him in the Pakistan line up since he retired. He had strengths that most Pakistani batsmen have never had and never will, particularly the ability to absorb pressure.

However I think the retirement that hurt Pakistan cricket the most was Imran Khan's retirement, he was a great leader, the glue that held the team together, took no rubbish from any of the players and showed them who was in charge.

I'll be honest I never wanted Imran Khan to age.

 

[Zeeraq]

Inzimam retirement hurt the most, back in 2003 and onward Inzimam and Shoaib AKhtar were the sole reasons I watched cricket . Good ol'days

I still cant believe what happened in 2007 WC.

 

[Bilal7]

Inzamam was my favourite player ever since I started watching cricket. I only got to see Waqar and Wasim at the end of their careers and even then I don't remember seeing them live. So yes, aloo's retirement was the saddest for me.

In the future it will probably be either Misbah's, Ajmal's or maybe even Amla's.

 

[Addy]

2 Ws :/

 

[Lara400]

Imran Khan.

Pak lost a bowler, batsman, Captain, Media manager and selector.

It was painful to see, Miandad, Saeed, Wasim, Waqar and Inzi go.

Of course on a personal note Lara retiring was a sad day.

 

[duostyle]

Wasim and Saeed the most easily along with Waqar. Saqi as well the way he was just discarded. In a short space of time all the favorites were gone and I just lost the passion for cricket till Amir's emergence. Safe to say if I wasn't registered on PP I'd have probably lost interest again after the dreaded tour in 2010.

Recently, it was sad to see Dravid leave. Will be the same for Kallis/Punter/Tendu/YK.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Bond. Gilchirst. Inzi. Warne. Murali. Wasim. Waqar. Dravid.



Khalid Mahmud

 

[Legend Killer]

Inzimam, since i started watching cricket i always saw Inzi in the line-up and when ever our batting collapsed we still knew that Inzi is there to hold fort. It hasn't been the same watching Pakistan matches after he has retired.

 

[Matini-Pakistan]

The retirement that hurt me the most, although there were many that did cause a great deal of personal sadness, was Wasim Akram's. In the first match I watched as a kid, I watched him first bat and bowl and fell in love with cricket. I was a massive fan, and even met him once, on the set of this Pepsi collaboration song he was part of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MBBRUUyTHc
^^ That one

When the World Cup in 2003 ended, and the way it ended with a dashing of hopes, was depressing. I remember I was heartbroken when they had somewhat forced retirements into some of my favourite cricketers, including Saeed Anwar, Waqar Younis, and ofcourse Wasim Akram. I also was saddened by the end of Inzamam's career, just 6 runs short of Miandad's record!

Outside of Pakistan, I really felt the retirements of Lance Klusener, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Stephen Fleming and Shaun Pollock. All being stars during my childhood, all of whom I admired

 

[UmarMalik]

Considering the fact that I have grown up watching/playing cricket, there are too many players..

But one person who I still miss up to this day is Saeed Anwar.. That guy is simply irreplaceable..

Inzi put me into tears when he retired after World Cup 07 from ODIs (that Zimbawe game)

Warne is another legend I miss whenever I see Australia playing..

 

[Matini-Pakistan]

Afridi's retirement from test.

Yes, that was a tough loss emotionally.

Which one of the 2 or 3 retirements (soon to be more ofcourse) were you saddened by?

Sort of like the Mohammad Yousuf retiring saga. No denying he's a class batsman, but he was number one on career U-turns. Made unretiring legends like Lance Armstrong or Michael Schumacher seem fairly ordinary circumstances.

 

[Pakistaniboy]

Inzi..

What a legend!

 

[farsiddiqui]

The Street Fighter - Javed Miandad

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

When Afridi will retire from all cricket.

 

[Pakistaniboy]

^ I will be happy the day he and Misbah retires

 

[Savak]

Everyone has to retire, players are pushed into retirement when it is felt they are no longer good enough. I dont think there has ever been a cricketer in Pak's history who has retired at his peak.

 

[ddss]

Moyo

 

[musaarthali]

Players come players go ..but game is bigger than anyone

Still Sachin's retirement day will be real sad day

 

[Statsman]

Afridi's retirement (final one) will be the biggest heart-break for the Pakistani masses.

 

[MMHS]

Imran.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Kumble

 

[justarslan]

Steve Waugh.

 

[justarslan]

Afridi's retirement (final one) will be the biggest heart-break for the Pakistani masses.

Only stupid kids and ladies like the Joker.

 

[LegendAli]

Only stupid kids and ladies like the Joker.

I can prove you otherwise in one post, so don't start.