Lendl Simmons, the West Indies batter, has retired from international cricket. The news came via Simmons’ sports agency 124notout, who announced on Monday that the 37-year-old had told CWI of his decision to retire through an official letter. Earlier in the day, former West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin had also announced his international retirement.
Simmons’ international career spanned 16 years, as he represented the country in 8 Tests, 68 ODIs and 68 T20Is, scoring 3763 runs across all formats.
Simmons made his ODI debut in 2006, against Pakistan in Faisalabad, but was dismissed for a two-ball duck. Overall, he scored 1958 ODI runs, including two centuries, at an average of 31.58.
While Simmons’ numbers in Tests were less than stellar – he played only eight matches and did not score a single fifty – he managed to carve a name for himself in the shortest format. Simmons played a key role in West Indies’ triumph during the 2016 T20 World Cup, blasting a 51-ball 82 in the semi-final against hosts India. In total, Simmons scored 1527 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 120.80, with nine half-centuries. He last represented West Indies during the 2021 T20 World Cup, struggling to 16 off 35 balls as the team lost to South Africa.
Simmons enjoyed a stellar career in franchise cricket, too, representing several teams like Mumbai Indians, Trinbago Knight Riders, Karachi Kings and Sylhet Sunrisers. He is the highest run-getter in CPL history, with 2629 runs from 91 innings, including 20 centuries. He also helped Mumbai to two IPL trophies, in 2015 and 2017, scoring a total of 1079 runs from 29 innings during his time with the franchise.
“As your agency, we take this opportunity to salute you king. You are arguably the most under estimated international cricketer in the West Indies,” 124notout said in an Instagram post. “For that reason, we will accept your retirement announcement as a resignation and we will turn this into a refinement.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo