Key Points:
The year 2025 was recorded as a major change in the history of international cricket. This year, veteran players from many countries including India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies said goodbye to different formats of cricket.
Delhi: The year 2025 was recorded as a major change in the history of international cricket. This year, veteran players from many countries including India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies said goodbye to different formats of cricket. Some gave priority to workload management, while others chose franchise cricket and family life. With these decisions, many memorable careers ended and a new era in cricket seemed to be beginning.
Let us now take a look at the key players who will retire in 2025:
Major players who retired from all formats
Martin Guptill: New Zealand’s Martin Guptill announced his retirement on 8 January. He was the country’s fifth highest run scorer and will always be remembered for his historic innings of 237* runs against West Indies in the 2015 World Cup.
Tamim Iqbal: Bangladesh’s experienced opener Tamim Iqbal retired again on 10 January. With 15,192 international runs, he was the second most successful batsman for Bangladesh.
Cheteshwar Pujara: India’s reliable Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said goodbye to cricket on 24 August. By scoring 7,195 runs in 103 Test matches, he established himself as the ‘Test Wall’ of India.
Wriddhiman Saha: Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha retired in January 2025. With 92 dismissals in 40 Tests, he was a reliable keeper of Team India for a long time.
Dimuth Karunaratne: Sri Lanka’s legendary batsman Dimuth Karunaratne announced his retirement after the Galle Test in February. He scored 7,222 runs in 100 test matches.
Heinrich Clasen: South Africa’s aggressive wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen has decided to quit international cricket at the age of just 33. He talked about giving priority to family and franchise cricket.
Nicholas Puran: West Indies’ star wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran surprised everyone by retiring before the T20 World Cup 2026. He was the player who played most T20Is for West Indies.
Amit Mishra: India’s experienced leg spinner Amit Mishra retired on 4 September. He was the only bowler to take three hat-tricks in IPL.
Mohit Sharma: Indian fast bowler Mohit Sharma bid farewell to international and IPL cricket on 3 December.
Asif Ali: Pakistan batsman Asif Ali left international cricket on 2 September. However, he hinted at continuing to play in franchise leagues.
Retirement from ODI cricket in 2025
This year, many big players said goodbye to the ODI format, while decided to continue playing in other formats.
Marcus Stoinis: Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis retired from ODI cricket before the Champions Trophy after playing 71 ODIs. He will be available in T20I cricket.
Steve Smith: Australian legend Steve Smith said goodbye to ODI cricket after the Champions Trophy semi-final after an illustrious career of 170 ODI matches and 12 centuries.
Mushfiqur Rahim: Bangladesh’s experienced wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim retired from ODI cricket with 7,795 runs. Earlier he had left T20I cricket.
Glenn Maxwell: Australia’s Glenn Maxwell distanced himself from this format after playing 149 ODI matches. Keeping the 2026 T20 World Cup in mind, he cited workload management as the reason.
Retirement from test cricket in 2025
Rohit Sharma: Indian captain Rohit Sharma said goodbye to Test cricket after failure and decline in form in the World Test Championship. He played 67 Tests and won almost 50 percent of the matches as captain.
Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket was the most shocking decision. With 9,230 runs and 40 Test wins, he emerged as India’s most successful Test captain.
Angelo Mathews: Sri Lanka’s experienced player Angelo Mathews bid farewell to Test cricket after scoring 8,167 runs in 118 Test matches. He was Sri Lanka’s third highest test run scorer.
Overall, 2025 proved to be a year of change for cricket, with many legends leaving the stage and paving the way for future stars.
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