World Cup 2023 – Cricketers coming out of retirement to have another wind in their careers is a rare thing nowadays. But it used to happen with more frequency in the past. Former Pakistan skipper and all-rounder Shahid Afridi is known to have taken a u-turn on his retirement multiple times, while it is not to forget that the likes of Imran Khan made a comeback after retirement and led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup glory.
Similar decisions and accomplishments fans are expecting from some of the world-class players: as the World Cup 2023 approaches, fans are wishing for a few retired players to come out of retirement and play in the tournament later in the year in India.
Cricket fans want for these 3 retired players to make a comeback for World Cup 2023:
Ben Stokes
Superstar England all-rounder Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket last July. England’s hero of the 2019 World Cup final, Stokes ended his ODI career to put more focus on the other two formats, in one of which he was leading England.
He had then said that playing all three formats was “just unsustainable for me now”. He had continued to play T20Is, but since England won the T20 World Cup last year in Australia, Stokes hasn’t played a T20I and only featured in the IPL.
It is likely that he won’t play any more T20Is till this year’s ODI World Cup. And there isn’t any Test series scheduled this year as well after the ongoing Ashes 2023 series. So there is a chance that England ask Stokes to come out of retirement as they aim to defend their ODI world champions title successfully in India later this year.
MS Dhoni
Oh, wouldn’t fans love MS Dhoni to come out of retirement and play in the World Cup 2023? Yes, of course, they would. But why? Because the Indian white-ball teams will be lacking their regular keeper and finisher that is Rishabh Pant.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni may be 40 years of age, but he showed his agility, swiftness and quality as a keeper, and his explosive finishing abilities are still intact during the IPL 2023 where he produced one after another quickfire cameos at the end of the innings. Another of his important trait will be the captaincy, leadership and astute game-assessing qualities that could help the India skipper Rohit Sharma.
Colin de Grandhomme
New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme retired from international cricket in August last year. de Grandhomme was one of New Zealand’s finest all-rounders this century and he made significant contributions with both bat and ball, though he often remained underrated- such as his excellent spell of 10-2-25-1 in the 2019 WC final against England rarely gets talked up, mostly because New Zealand lost.
The New Zealand would, though, might wish for de Grandhomme to reconsider his retirement and play in the World Cup 2023. The pitches in India would suit his style of medium-and-accurate type of bowling while he still remains an asset as a finisher with the bat and is plying his trade in franchise leagues around the world.
