Ross Taylor will play in T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Former New Zealand legend Ross Taylor shocked the world on Friday by reversing his international retirement. Playing international cricket is the ultimate goal for every cricketer who takes up the sport at a young age.
An exciting second innings awaits Ross Taylor 🤩🇼🇸
— ICC (@ICC) September 5, 2025
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An international retirement is often the end of a career. But there have been instances where players have taken a U-turn on it. Here we take a look at some of the top cricketers who have come out of international retirement over the years.
Arguably the greatest Pakistan player of all time, Imran Khan had lost the will to continue playing after the 1987 World Cup semifinal defeat. But he later reversed his decision on the request of President Zia-ul-Haq. He went on to lead Pakistan to their first and only world cup triumph in 1992.
One of the greatest India pacers, Javagal Srinath called it quits from Test cricket due to not getting enough game-time on the 2001-02 West Indies tour. But the then-captain Sourav Ganguly called him and sorted out the differences. However, Srinath played only three more Tests before retiring from the format.
Former Pakistan all-rounder became a synonym for the reversal of retirement due to the amount of U-turns he took in his career. He first retired in 2006 but made a comeback to star in the 2009 T20 World Cup final. He retired again in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017, by which team his retirement became a joke.
Kevin Pietersen was one of the most polarising figures during his time. By far the greatest white-ball England player at the time, Pietersen announced early retirement in May 2012 citing packed international schedule. He made a comeback later but a series of controversies meant that he was dropped from the side. He played nine ODIs and a T20I after reversing his retirement.
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Dwayne Bravo was one of the pioneers in T20 cricket and had a successful career in the shorter format. He retired from international cricket in 2016 but came out of it for the 2021 T20 World Cup. Bravo played 25 T20Is after returning but retired again after a shock group stage exit.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa announced his decision to retire from international cricket in January 2022 at the age of 30. But he reversed the decision within eight days after his meeting with Sri Lanka sports minister Namal Rajapaksa. The explosive middle order batter last played a T20I in January this year and has since been out of the side.
Moeen Ali, who had retired from Test cricket in 2021, made his comeback during the 2023 Ashes when England were without a spinner. All he needed was a text from captain Ben Stokes. Moeen played four matches in the home Ashes, scoring 180 runs and picking up nine wickets.
The veteran Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal made his retirement announcement in July 2023 in a press conference, where he broke down multiple times. But he reversed the decision after the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina convinced him to continue playing. That extension didn’t last long as he retired once again ahead of the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
The influential England all-rounder had made a tough decision to retire from ODI cricket in 2022 citing the fatigue from a cramped international schedule. But Stokes took a u-turn ahead of the 2023 World Cup, although it didn’t help England avoid a disastrous exit. He hasn’t played any ODIs since but hasn’t announced retirement either.
Ross Taylor became the latest cricketer to join the list of cricketers to come out of international retirement. The 41-year-old batter, who made 450 appearances for New Zealand, had retired in April 2022. He is now set to make a comeback with Samoa, the country of his mother’s birth. He will play in the Asia-East Asia-Pacific T20 World Cup 2026 qualifier in Oman to help them qualify.
It’s hard to sit out of a home World Cup when you have age on your side. Quinton de Kock is back in the mix and will be available from South Africa’s next white-ball assignment. He will target the World Cup 2027 and look to do it all for his team once again.
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