After the former captain of Ricky Ponting announced that he would be hanging his boots, the lenses all pointed to Sachin Tendulkar immediately after. But in the big picture, it was not just Sachin who was on the brink of retirement. Several other legends of cricket have come of age to hand in their boots to be hung too. Will the sudden surprise move be the first move that would cause an exodus in the cricketing history?
Everyone is eying Sachin while there are several others who themselves know that they cannot match the physical requirements of the game with the age playing hardball. South African Jacques Kallis is definitely next on the list of players who would be contemplating retirement.
Not just him, there are currently a handful of players who are in the 35+ age group who will belong in the category. Though a few of them would manage it past 38, most of them would hand in their resignations next year or so with a respectable exit from the game.
Tendulkar will enter his quadragenarian life next April and he should have already had his words with the selectors. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mahela Jayawardene from West Indies and Sri Lanka, despite their form in the game, are like the leaves of a tree in autumn; uncertain of when they would fall.
These are currently the highest run-getters in the game apart from the already retired veterans like Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Sunil Gavaskar.
Kalli's hamstring injury three years ago should be making him think of a retirement despite his performance with the bat. Chanderpaul has been defying critics with his style of batting and has no reason to be thinking of retirement but his age. Jayawardene and Sangakkara are in their prime form despite being 35 and there is no sign of yellowing yet.
Next year will reveal the many retirements to come. It would also be interesting to learn who would be the successors to these masters of the game. We can expect a complete change in the game with all the veterans retiring in an year or two.
(AW- Anil)
