In today’s weekend blog, I am writing about cricket.
It is very difficult for cricketers (and sportspersons in general) to identify when to hang up their boots. That is perhaps the reason why most players take the call to end their careers in the midst downslide, as they are unable to foresee the trough which invariably follows a high. In today’s blog, I am writing about five batsmen who prolonged their Test/ODI career in the expectation of a reversal in form that was never to be:
1 Adam Gilchrist (Australia)- He could have made it to the then Australian team purely as a batsman; he was a wicketkeeper batsman. But such was his dominance in his domain that he never missed a Test match in his career. (Effectively putting the lid over prospective Keeper-batsmen/batsmen-keepers). He had scored almost 2300 runs more than the other famous keeper-batsman Mark Boucher. Splitting his career into two(not equal) parts shows that he was at the peak of his powers until pre-2005 Ashes period. Till then, he had almost 4500 runs in 68 Tests @ a high average of 55.65.
But the 2005 Ashes had many casualties and Gilchrist was one of them, till the end of his career. He played 28 Tests more, and added two more 100s, but averaged only 30.21. It was, perhaps, the expectation of Gilchrist miracle that kept him going in the Test side for a few matches too many.
His stats
From 4 Nov 1999 to 5 July 2005- In 68 Test matches (97 innings) he scored 4452 runs @ 55.65 with 15 hundreds, highest of 204.
From 5 July 2005 to 24 Jan 2008-In 28 Tests (40 innings) he scored 1118 runs @30.22 with 2 hundreds, highest of 144.
2 Ricky Ponting (Australia)- His career numbers are perhaps next only to Don Bradman and Greg Chappell’s in the history of Australian cricket. An erratic individual in early days, Ponting, in 2001, scripted a dramatic turnaround in his career through relentless discipline and drive to perform. A sensational five year period (till Ashes 2006/07) saw him score more than 6000 runs at an average of more than 70.
His form dipped thereafter, however, he still scored relatively consistently until March 2010 but that was time his form nosedived. From March 2010 onwards, he scored two 100s in 26 Tests at an average of just 33.75, this brought his career average from 55.68 to 51.85. He finally called an end to his career in November 2012.
His stats
From 8 Dec 1995 to 18 Mar 2010-In 142 Tests (240 innings), he scored 11,859 runs @ 55.68 with 39 hundreds, with highest of 257.
From 19 Mar 2010 to 30 Nov 2012- In 26 Tests (47 innings), he scored 1519 runs @ 33.75, with 2 hundreds, highest of 221.
3 Sachin Tendulkar (India)– Many were of the opinion (and still are) that he should have called time on his career after 2011 ODI World Cup. But is easy to say that when you are not the one who is sitting on 99 international hundreds, just one milestone away from setting an impossible benchmark for coming generations to emulate. In 2009/10 he had scored his 50th and 51st Test 100s in South Africa, The subsequent dip in form in both Tests and ODIs was unexpected but not inevitable. In the 23 Tests that he played during this period with the tour of England until end of his career, he did not score a single century in 39 innings, and the emergence of youngsters made his presence all the more unwanted. Subsequently he retired on 16th November 2013, that is almost 31 months after the World Cup win in 2011.
His stats
From 15 Nov 1989 to 20 Jul 2011-In 177 Tests (290 innings), he scored 14,692 runs @ 56.95 with 51 hundreds, highest of 248.
From21 July 2011 to 14 Nov 2013-In 23 Tests (39 innings0 he scored 1229 runs @ 32.34 with highest 94.
4 Vivian Richards (West Indies)-His legend was built upon his ability to intimidate and destroy quality fast bowling. His exploits are so endearing that they demand an analysis/appreciation of their own. For a man who inspired an entire generation of cricketers, he also saw his powers waning when his eyesight and reflexes began to give away. This was evident from December 1988 onwards. He played 20 more Tests until the end of his career, averaging just 36.3 (unlike Richards0 with just one hundred against India. His genius is evident from the fact that he still managed to cross 50 in 12 of the 32 innings he played, but to many he was just not the Viv Richards that had stridden the cricketing universe like a king.
His Stats
From 22 Nov 1974 to 23 Dec 1988-In 101 Tests (150 innings), he scored 7487 runs @ 53.10 with 23 hundreds, highest of 291.
From 24 Dec 1988 to 8 Aug 1991-In 20 Tests, he scored 1053 runs @ 36.31 with 1 hundred, highest of 110.
5 Virender Sehwag (India)- He turned the stereotype of the watchful and alert opening batsman into attacking opening batsman. There have been few more exhilarating boundary hitters in the game than Sehwag. He has scored 63.8% of his Test runs in boundaries, only Chris Gayle has scored 66.15% of his Test runs in boundaries. A batsman possessing unbelievable hand-eye coordinate. Made the most of it to plunder boundaries and bend the bowlers to his will. But much like Richards, when such instinctive abilities start too fade away, a downfall is imminent.
Starting from December 2010 until his ill-fated final series vs Australia (2013), Sehwag scored only 1 century in the 20 Tests he played, averaging just 28.77.
His stats
From 3 Nov 2001 t0 20 Nov 2010-I 84 Tests (144 innings), he scored 7550 runs @54.71 with 22 hundreds, highest of 319 runs.
From 16 Dec 2010 to 2 Mar 2013-In 20 Tests 936 innings), he scored 1036 runs @28.77 with 1 hundred, highest of 117.
As far as I can remember from top batsmen only Sunil Gavaskar retired at the right time, when he was still going strong and if he wanted he could have continued for few years more.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
5th December 2025