3 international cricketers who became better after reversing retirements

Reversing retirement seems to be the new trend among international cricketers. In the last 12 months, several big names in world cricket have decided to take a U-turn on their decision to call it quits in a particular format of cricket.

England's Test captain Ben Stokes, who retired from ODI cricket last year, has agreed to play for the nation in the 50-over format once again, with the ICC ODI World Cup approaching. Earlier this year, all-rounder Moeen Ali came out of Test retirement and played for England in the Ashes series against Australia.

Indian batter Manoj Tiwary announced retirement from all formats of cricket on Instagram, only to take a U-turn at a press conference later and inform the fans that he would continue to play for Bengal.

Even Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal announced retirement from international cricket emotionally at a press conference in the middle of the series against Afghanistan. However, after a chat with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Iqbal took a U-turn.

Reversing retirement has sometimes been a blessing for some cricketers as they came out and performed better. Here's a list of three such cricketers who became better after reversing retirements.

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#1 One of Pakistan's best cricketers - Shahid Afridi

Any discussion in cricket about reversing retirements will be incomplete without Shahid Afridi. The former Pakistan all-rounder announced retirements in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017, with the 2017 one being the only retirement where Afridi has stayed true to his promise.

In 2011, Afridi announced retirement after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sacked him as their skipper, following a loss against India in the ICC ODI World Cup semifinals.

Five months after retiring, Afridi took a U-turn and came back to play for his country. He played some of the best knocks of his ODI career after that. The most memorable performances came in Asia Cup 2014, where smacked an unbeaten 18-ball 34* against India and a 25-ball 59 against Bangladesh to help Pakistan win the matches from a losing position.

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#2 One of Sri Lanka's rising stars - Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa stunned the cricket world by announcing retirement in January 2022. The left-handed batter cited familial obligations as the reason behind his decision to retire. However, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister disapproved the retirement and asked him to rethink if he is making a 'hasty' decision.

Rajapaksa came back to the Sri Lankan team in June 2022. He played a magnificent knock of 71 runs off 45 balls in the Asia Cup Final against Pakistan and helped Sri Lanka become the champions.

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#3 One of West Indies' best cricketers - Dwayne Bravo

Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo retired in 2018, but in late 2019, he reversed the decision after a change in the administration. Bravo resumed playing T20Is for West Indies and ended with 26 wickets in 2020 and 2021.

His economy rate generally remained around eight or nine runs per over, but after reversing retirement, Bravo's economy rate remained around seven in 2020 and 2021. He finally bid adieu to international cricket after T20 World Cup 2021.