Already this year, we have seen two popular players returning from their retirement. While we first saw Moeen Ali take back his Test retirement to play in the Ashes, Tamim Iqbal took just one day to take back his retirement after being convinced by his country’s Prime Minister. In both these cases, it was someone else who convinced the player to withdraw the retirement. In Moeen’s case, it was Ben Stokes and the English management. On similar lines, we could see some more examples in the future. On that note, here, we take a look at two players who could be convinced to return from retirement this year.
1) Ben Stokes – ODIs
Ben Stokes has retired from ODI cricket. However, he is a top-class talent as seen in the 2022 T20 World Cup and in the Ashes, he is a player for the big stage. In this regard, England would benefit a lot from having Stokes in the setup. England does have some good all-rounders but they don’t come close to Ben Stokes. Yes, it would be denying them an opportunity at the last moment but England now has a good chance of winning two ODI WC trophies in the trot, which is more important.
2) Kieron Pollard – T20Is
Kieron Pollard is one of the players who could be convinced to return from retirement this year. West Indies is in horrible form right now. Their next big target must be the 2024 T20 World Cup at home. They would need experience in the squad. Pollard is still 36 and can change games with his bat. Considering the tournament will happen at home, Pollard would help West Indies a lot. Therefore, he is also one of the players on this list. Since Daren Sammy is the Head Coach, it might not be a surprise if we see Pollard back to the squad.
